


Silent Resilience

by A_M_B_E_R



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Disability, Disabled Character, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gay, Happy Ending, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Multi, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 73,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28813200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_M_B_E_R/pseuds/A_M_B_E_R
Summary: OHSHC x Male Amputee OCIt was strange, honestly. Adreil had gotten strange stares everywhere he went. Perhaps it was due to his piercings, or his foreign appearance, or perhaps the single black glove that adorned his left hand. Yet, he never paid them any mind. This was a rule he grew up with, something his dear mother had taught him from birth; never be afraid of being different. And this rule wasn't going to change, even after starting his first year at a new high school on a scholarship. Even after his secret gets spilled a bit sooner (and a bit more violent) than he liked.
Relationships: Haninozuka Mitsukuni/Original Male Character(s), Hitachiin Hikaru/Original Male Character(s), Hitachiin Kaoru/Original Male Character(s), Kasanoda Ritsu/Original Character(s), Morinozuka Takashi/Original Male Character(s), Nekozawa Umehito/Original Male Character(s), Ootori Kyouya/Original Male Character(s), Suoh Tamaki/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 101





	1. Awkward First Impressions

The quiet sounds of footsteps echoed through the small apartment, followed by the gentle shutting of a door. With a book bag slung over his right shoulder, a young man slowly crept through the still home, silent as a mouse.

The young man could barely even be called so; he was only fifteen years old. His looks did not betray his age, though. Large, brown eyes sat behind a shaggy head of purple-brown hair, narrowed in concentration. His tanned, sun-kissed skin shone in the bright light streaming through the apartment’s windows as he made his way past the small living room. He wore a dull-grey knit sweater with a tall collar, along with black dress pants that ended at his ankles. Multiple sets of black earrings adorned his ears, somewhat hid by his shaggy, dark locks.

Briefly, the boy glanced over at the sofa where his father laid. The older man snored loudly, an arm draped over his eyes as he was barely even balanced on the seat. The boy stifled a small smile at the sight before making his way past. 

No doubt dad had worked another late night. The boy hoped he at least ate dinner before falling asleep.

His black polished shoes stopped at the front door. Carefully, the boy adjusted the bag before reaching his right arm forward, opening and stepping out quietly so as to not disturb his father’s rest. As he shut the door behind him, he re-adjusted the bag before heading off to school.

It was a nice morning, he thought. The sun was bright and high in the sky, yet a gentle breeze shook the passing trees in a way that felt perfect to him. The wind ruffled his loose clothing, making him smile slightly, though it was gone in an instant.

The boy’s name was Adriel Min, son of Asher Min, however his father preferred to go by just Asher. Around him, Adriel had gotten strange stares from the people on the streets as he walked to school.

Perhaps it was his piercings and various scars that grabbed their attention. Or perhaps the black glove that rested on his left hand, despite it only being spring. Or perhaps it was his tan skin and foreign features that made him stand out. Either way, Adriel simply ignored the stares with a blank look. Pulling out his earbuds, he plugged them in before blasting his favourite song.

After what felt like quite a long amount of walking, he had made his way to school. Staring up at the pink building, Adriel couldn’t help but admire its architecture. Though bright pink struck him as a bit of an odd choice, he couldn’t deny the building’s beauty. With a smile, he walked through the front gates, ready to begin his first year. Around him, the cherry trees swayed in the cool wind.

Unfortunately, his arrival had stirred a bit of attention. Even with his earbuds in, and with slightly blurred vision, he could still sense the students around him whispering. Behind yellow-clothed hands and violet-donner shoulders, his rich classmates seemed to pay just a little bit too much attention to his makeshift uniform.

The loose-almost flowy material made him look perhaps too casual for such an elite academy. Still, Adriel simply ignored their burning gazes. He didn’t have any better clothes anyways.

‘Class 1-A, right? That shouldn’t be too hard to find. Let’s just hope it’s close’

“Everyone, please welcome your new classmate! You may come in now”

With a deep breath, Adriel walked into the classroom, closing the door gently behind him. Turning to face the class, his face remained the same: blank and unassuming.

“My name is Adriel Min. Please take care of me”

As monotone as his voice was, the words came out gently, quiet even. His voice wasn’t very deep, neither was it annoyingly high. It was just soft spoken, the class noted.

He didn’t bat an eye as numerous stares were sent back at him. Two twins, a group of gossiping girls, a doe-eyed brunet… Adriel had gotten used to stares everywhere he went, this was no big deal to him. The teacher smiled at him, turning to face the class with a happy look.

“Does anyone have any questions for Adriel?”

Almost immediately, a girl in the back with a ribbon in her hair raised her hand. The teacher called upon her with a smile. “Yes, Renge?”

“Where are you from?”

“Singapore” Adriel responded with a shrug. “It’s a nice place. Really hot, though”

At the continuing sound of his voice, a few people in the room turned pink. At what, Adriel didn’t know. A boy in the front raised his hand, the teacher calling him once more. “Akemi?”

“Why are you here so late?”

“I was a bit busy with personal matters. I asked the school to postpone my enrollment for a few weeks” he responded. Various other questions were asked, and Adriel did the best he could to answer.

“Are you a commoner?”

“Are you single?”

“Why aren’t you wearing the uniform?”

“Why are you wearing piercings?”

“How tall are you?”

‘Is it normal to ask these questions on the first meeting?’ Adriel thought as he replied to each one with a monotone voice. The twins sitting a few rows back kept on staring straight into his soul with calculating eyes, making him feel just a bit more uncomfortable than he liked. 

The one on the left raised his hand. “Why are you only wearing one glove?”

Adriel looked down at his left hand, the black leather adorning it dully staring back at him. Repeating his already-rehearsed answer, Adriel spoke flatly “I got a burn a couple days ago. I’m just wearing this to cover it up, since it’s still recovering”

The twin seemed to nod, before lowering his hand. After what felt like a hundred more questions, Adriel was finally shown to his seat. Just behind the brown-haired student that he noticed earlier. As he pulled out his notebook, he prepared to study for his favourite subject; Literature.

Flipping through the book (that seemed just a little bit too big), the twins sitting diagonally from him took notice of the various ink-filled pages. Messy handwriting filled each paper to the brim; no doubt he was a literature nerd, they noted.

And yet, Adriel’s small smile, round eyes and gentle expression was enough to make the group of girls on his left blush. Even if it were directed to his notebook, and only his notebook. The twins stared at each other before raising their brows.

“Thank you for having me, Suoh-san” Adriel softly said, shifting in his seat. Across from him, the cheery headmaster only smiled back.

“Nonsense, Min! I only wanted to discuss your scholarship details. It was written on your acceptance letter, but I would like to go more into detail now”

After a nod from the student, the man began to explain. 

“For your program, I expect a creative writing piece every two weeks. They must follow the same story as the previous one submitted. After four months, I would like you to start a new story with a different plotline. Along with this, I expect a poem or short story every month.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. Do you have any questions?”

“One, if I may ask?”

Receiving a nod from the headmaster, Adriel turned pink with embarrassment as he sheepishly smiled. “Do you have a map of the school? I never got one. It took me a while to find my first class”

The man blinked before laughing. “Ah, my apologies! It must’ve slipped my mind. How about I arrange a tour for you instead?”

“Would that be alright?” Adriel asked with wide eyes. His shaggy hair shook as he looked up in surprise.

“Of course, Min. Will you be fine for the rest of the day? I can arrange someone to show you around at the end of the day”

“That would be fine, Suoh-san”

“Splendid! Then, enjoy the rest of your lunch period”

With that, Adriel left the office, breathing out a short sigh of relief. Walking through the halls, he stared out the window as he passed.

‘I hope you’re proud, Mom. I’m doing the best I can’

Making his way down a flight of stairs, he clutched onto the handrail with his right arm as best as he could. Carefully, one foot after the other, Adriel walked down, albeit a bit slowly. When he was at the bottom, he breathed a sigh of relief before smiling slightly.

Around him, the students whispered behind their hands. The strange way he almost seemed to limp with every step… was he on drugs or something?

The back gardens of the school were beautiful, he noted. Taking a seat on a stone bench by an...interestingly shaped fountain, Adriel pulled out his bento. Simply enough, he just had some leftover chili crab and rice from last night’s dinner. Nothing else, other than a small bottle of water that he packed for himself this morning.

After taking one look at the cafeteria earlier, he decided it would be best to eat elsewhere. Adriel wasn’t exactly a very social guy; he was much too scared of crowded places, and too shy to try and strike up his own conversations. Making friends, although wasn’t something he was horrible at, definitely wasn’t his strong suit either.

Besides, he liked the quiet more than chaos. Was it due to his shy nature? Or perhaps his past, unfortunate occurrences in the chaos of rushing crowds that left him feeling anxious around other people? Adriel shook off the thought with a small scowl, going back to his usual blank expression soon after.

Either way, the quiet also made it easier for him to read as well.

Flipping through the thick pages of The Testaments, he ate his food with his right hand, pausing to put his chopsticks down before flipping the page with the same hand. His left arm laid by his side, unmoving. To anyone who could have been watching, it probably looked like an awkward motion. It was a good thing no one was watching, he thought.

As he was reading and enjoying himself, he failed to notice the looks he got from two upperclassmen from the window above him. 

The pair were walking by the window when they had spotted the new student from above. Pausing in the hallway, they stared down at him.

The shorter one looked in confusion, quickly turning to curiosity. “Takashi? I’ve never seen him before, who’s that?”

Mori only grunted in response, unable to answer. He hadn’t any idea either. Honey continued to look in curiosity.

“He has piercings… aren’t those not allowed?”

“Hm”

Again, there was a silence between the two. Finally, Honey frowned. “He looks a little scary. Maybe we should be careful around him”

Though he didn’t say anything, Mori silently agreed. The pair continued on their way to the host club, as though the exchange didn’t even happen.

All the while Adriel hadn’t known it existed at all.

“I’m telling you, Boss! The girls loved him!” Hikaru exclaimed, stretching his arms out to somehow prove his point. “Maybe it’s some new kinda thing? I don’t know, he looked like a thug”

“Piercings, scars, loose clothes and shaggy hair doesn’t really sound like host material” Kyoya somewhat-sarcastically noted. He flashed a fake smile to the rest of the group. “But if what you said was true, why do you think so?”

“I guess the girls like bad-boys or something” Kaoru shrugged, feigning innocence. “But he spoke weirdly politely, though. It didn’t suit his looks”

The four members host club was seated inside Music Room 3, chatting amongst themselves about what seemed to be the hottest news in the school. That mysterious, rough yet gentle looking boy from class 1-A seemed to be getting all kinds of attention, both good and bad.

“Perhaps he might be a tough-on-the-outside-type, but he’s actually a gentle one?” Tamaki asked with a wondering look. “What else do you know about him?”

“His name’s Adriel Min. Moved here from Singapore a few years ago. You can tell he’s a foreigner” Hikaru stated matter-of-factly. “Grabbed a few lovey-dovey stares from the people in our class. From both guys and girls, I mean”

“He got a few glares too. I’m guessing some people don’t like the way he looks” Kaoru added. Before he was able to continue, the sounds of the room’s door opening alerted the small group. Two more people walked in, just as curious in the conversation.

“Who are you guys talking about?” Honey asked as he and Mori made their way into the room, having been a bit late. 

The only one who wasn’t present yet was Haruhi, who had been held up by the headmaster.

“Adriel Min, the newest scholarship student” Kyoya answered. He began typing on his computer, clacking away in the background.

“Scholarship?!” Tamaki jumped. “From the sounds of it, he doesn’t seem like the type. What for?”

“...”

“Mommy?”

Kyoya didn’t look over as he answered. “I don’t know yet”

“Wait, you don’t know?” The twins looked at each other in surprise. “I thought you knew everything”

Kyoya didn’t even spare them a glance as he continued to type on his keyboard. Albeit noticeably faster than usual, as though he were growing frustrated in himself. His lack of answer only meant one thing; even the shadow king didn’t know much about the mysterious boy.

His information seemed to be blocked by officials. Why, exactly, Kyoya had absolutely no clue. Even with his skills in web-searching, he was unable to find any sort of data about this strange young man. Though he didn’t let it show outwardly, it was clear that he was ticked off by this fact.

“What do you think, Hika-chan? He seems a little scary” Honey frowned, clutching hold of his bunny a bit tighter. “We saw him on our way here. Have you talked to him yet?”

“Nah, he doesn’t seem like a talker. He’s quiet” the twin answered. “It’s weird, the way he talks. He’s so monotone, it’s off putting”

The door opened and closed again, this time welcoming the last remaining member of the host club. The group glanced over at her.

“Are you guys talking about that new guy in our class?” Haruhi asked as she made her way inside the clubroom, shutting the door behind her. In her hands was a map of the school, as well as her lunch.

“Yeah, that Min kid. He’s kind of weird, isn’t he?” Kaoru asked the girl, lying down on the satin sofa.

“You guys gossip way too much, I’m sure he’s nice” she huffed. As she sat down at a table and began to eat, Haruhi only got stares from the rest of the club. Turning her head to face them, she raised a brow. “What?”

“Haruhiiiiii! Have you been talking with that thug without me knowing?!” Tamaki yelled, grabbing and shaking her by the shoulders. She let out an awkwardly choked sound.

“W-what are you-you ta-alking abo-ut?!” she choked out between aggressive shakes. 

Mori grabbed Tamaki by the arms and pulled him away from the girl, earning him a small thank-you.

“How do you know he’s nice?” Hikaru quirked a brow.

“How do you know he’s mean?” Haruhi huffed in response. “Look, I’ll be showing him around later after school, so I’ll see for myself what he’s like. Can we eat lunch now?”

“Wai-hold on, you’ll do what?!” Tamaki shouted in the background, being politely ignored by everyone else. The blond practically sobbed at the lack of attention he got back.

“Is that why you were being held back today?” Kyoya asked, finally shutting his laptop and facing the group.

“Yeah. The headmaster wants me to show him around, since he’s new. I’ll be a bit late for the club, sorry” she responded as she took another bite of her food. Kyoya nodded at the information, wondering if he should keep this instance in mind for future “use”.

Haruhi’s nonchalant attitude didn’t mix well with the rest of the group. They looked around at each other, mixes of worry and irritation clear on their faces (apart from Kyoya and Mori, of course). 

From what they had gathered so far, this mysterious boy that grabbed everyone’s attention upon first arrival seemed to be dangerous. What else could explain his scars? Not to mention his strange limp that people had been gossiping about earlier. 

It just made so much sense in their heads that Harui was simply unsafe when being around this boy later. The group members looked around each other, and just like that, a plan was put into action.

All without poor Haruhi’s knowledge, of course.

“Hey, you’re Adriel, right?”

“Yeah, and you’re Fujioka?” Adriel tilted his head slightly as he adjusted the bag on his shoulder.

The pair was standing just outside the office, where they were asked to meet. The bell had rung only a few minutes ago. Thankfully, Adriel’s last class of the day was close to the office, so he had no trouble getting there.

Not thankfully, the crowds of students lingering in the hallways did nothing to ease his nerves. Still, he pushed them aside as he faced the one in front of him.

‘I’m at least glad Suoh-san chose him. He seems pretty chill’

“Oh, you can just call me Haruhi. Ready to go?” Haruhi smiled. Nodding, Adriel offered a small one back as they began to walk together.

Through the halls they went, making small idle chatter. As it turned out, the twins were right about Adriel being quiet, but Haruhi could tell it wasn’t out of rudeness. 

The boy she was leading around just seemed to be naturally reserved. Throughout their journey, he mostly walked with a blank look on his face, as though he were deep in thought. Yet, Haruhi felt all the more welcome in his presence. Adriel had an air of peace to him, one that overlooked his outward appearance.

Not that Haruhi really cared about those things anyways.

“Suoh-san said you were another scholarship student” Adriel broke their comfortable silence. Haruhi glanced behind her, before flashing a small smile.

“Yeah, for academics. He said the same about you. Are you here for academics too?”

“Not really. I’m here for art”

“Oh, really? That’s pretty cool” she noted with wide eyes. “I bet you’re an amazing drawer, congratulations”

For a moment, Adrien seemed to stifle a laugh. Quirking a brow, Haruhi wondered if perhaps she had just imagined it. It had passed so quickly, it seemed unreal. 

Yet the small, amused smile remaining on his face said otherwise. “I’m a writer”

It was quiet for a second, as Haruhi let out a small “ohhhh”. Smiling bashfully, she scratched the back of her head. “Sorry about that. Writing seems pretty cool too! What kind of books do you like?”

“Have you heard of Magaret Atwood?”

“Oh my gosh, no way!”

Just like that, they seemed to click. All previous tension of any sort went down the drain as they began to bond over their favourite books, Haruhi admittedly dominating most of the conversation. It didn’t bother either of them, though. 

Just because he was quiet didn’t mean Adriel was a horrible socializer. He just didn’t appreciate the loud, boisterous sounds of crowds. Quiet, calm conversations were more of his specialty. He usually warmed up to people a bit later down the line.

Yet, as they continued their tour, Adriel could tell that Haruhi was going to become a friend in the future. It brought him a sense of comfort knowing that there was at least someone who seemed to understand him in the school. All his other classmates either stared at him weirdly, or bushed and ran away at every single encounter.

And here someone was, geeking out with him over their favourite literature. Adriel smiled. Haruhi was cool.

As she began to explain the plot of a new book she was reading, Adriel couldn’t help but suddenly feel a slight unease. There was a burning at the back of his head, as though countless eyes were staring straight at him. Swiftly turning around, he looked back.

No one was there, but he could see the quickest movement out of the corner of his left eye. Granted, that eye didn’t exactly work very well. Shaking off the feeling, he tried to focus on Haruhi’s words again, only to no avail.

As they rounded another corner, Adriel turned his head sharper this time. 

He managed to catch a swift tuft of blond hair ducking behind a pillar. Adriel tilted his head a little.

He didn’t know any blonds. In fact, he had barely interacted with anyone apart from Haruhi today, and those little interactions could barely even be called so. Did he already make another enemy? Sighing, he turned back to face the one leading him around.

“Haruhi, do you think someone’s following us?”

“Uh…”

Haruhi seemed to freeze for a moment, before an irritated look crossed her face. She mumbled under her breath. “Are you kidding me…”

“What?”

“Nothing! Let’s just keep going” she quickly replied, perhaps a bit too quickly for Adriel took notice of her sudden nerves. Yet, he said nothing. Whoever was following them, he didn’t really care too hard.

That was kind of his thing; not really caring about the negatives. Albeit, perhaps that sounded a bit lax, but Adriel didn’t exactly give much attention to the things that hated him. He had been taught to face opposition with respect and intuition instead of loathing. This, of course, didn’t work for every circumstance, but it was a foundation he used most days.

So he shrugged off the weird stalkers, continuing his conversation with Haruhi, who seemed to be walking a bit faster now. Her pace was a bit harder to keep up with, as Adriel needed to push his right foot forward harder now. It almost looked like he was skipping, oddly. If his limp wasn’t noticeable before, it definitely was now. Though Haruhi didn’t seem to see it, only focusing on attempting to shake off their followers.

As they quickly approached a flight of stairs, he took his right arm out of his pocket and prepared to grab a hold of the handrail on the wall.

Only for Haruhi to grab his hand and quickly make her way down the stairs in haste. Or, at least, she tried to.

It was a moment of complete tomfuckery, Adriel quickly realized. His eyes widened at the unexpected tug, stumbling over his legs. In an instant, he had lost balance, tripping over his own intertwined feet as he fell forward. Unfortunately, he took Haruhi down the stairs with him.

Crack!

“Ah!”

“Ow!”

There was a sudden crashing feeling of his back against the polished ground as he blinked, dazed. He mumbled under his breath. “Again?...”

Sadly, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to him.

Pulling himself to a sitting position, he quickly ran his right hand over his legs and other arm, wondering if anything had possibly been damaged. His left leg seemed to be fine, but he had yet to check over his left arm yet. When they fell down, he had heard a sickeningly loud cracking sound, however he was unsure as to who or where it came from. 

‘Hopefully not Haruhi’ he thought.

Haruhi was sprawled on the ground beside him, at the foot of the staircase they had unfortunately tumbled down. Luckily, neither of them were truly hurt, however their fall had grabbed the attention of the group that was stalking them earlier.

Especially with the loud, crunching noise that had erupted from the action.

Quickly standing back on her feet, she began to stammer. “Oh god, I’m so sorry! Here, let me help you up”

Reaching down, she grabbed Adriel’s gloved hand out of a slip-of-mind. His eyes widened, as he quickly realized what was about to happen.

“Oh no wait don’t-”

Haruhi pulled her arm back, and a loud Pop! echoed through the halls. 

Her arm felt way too light to be holding the weight of one person, and Haruhi realized very quickly that something was very wrong. She opened one eye cautiously, mind swarming with terribly gruesome thoughts as to what could’ve made the popping sound. With wide eyes and a shaky figure, she glanced down at her hand in fear.

Just as she had been thinking, but attempting not to, in her hand was Adriel’s arm. Adriel himself not-attached.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, as though time had frozen. Adriel’s eyes were wide with surprise and slight fear. Haruhi at this point was way past the point of slight, though.

“Uh, Haruhi?”

“AAAAHHHHH!!!!”

Dropping his left arm, she collapsed onto the ground in fear, her knees unable to hold anymore. Haruhi seriously felt like she was going to puke. 

On the bright side, there were a few good things in this situation. For one, the hallways were barren of any visible students, meaning that Haruhi’s scream didn’t attract anyone new’s attention. That was good news, especially to Adriel, who kind of looked like he wanted to disappear at that moment.

On the down side, her scream did unfortunately alert the group of stalkers that had been following them previously. Having already been worried of her fall down the stairs, a rush of footsteps quickly drew near as the host club made themselves known.

Tamaki was the first to arrive, having jumped up as soon as he heard Haruhi yell. In his head, a thousand thoughts ran through his brain at the speed of light, each more worrisome than the last. It was a horrible idea to let her go alone with that thug, he thought avidly! Who knows what that boy did to her!

The two third years were quick to follow behind. The only reason why they seemed to be slower was because Tamaki was practically pushing past them, in his hurried state. The twins came after, although they too were quite fast. Finally, Kyoya walked at a normal pace over to where the situation was, being left behind in their dust. 

Down the staircase Tamaki ran, almost tripping himself. He saw red; Haruhi was on the floor, shaking in what seemed to be fear. Across from her, that mysterious boy held his arms out to her, seemingly speaking to her.

If Tamaki were to slow down and actually use his brain, he would realize that Adriel was attempting to calm her down.

Unfortunately, the king was not that kind of person. All he could see was a thug reaching out at Haruhi in an attempt to try something. Jumping up into the air, he brought his foot forward into an almost comical-looking pose.

Adriel froze hearing the sounds of rushing footsteps to his left. From his blurred vision, he could make out the figure of someone jumping straight at him. He would’ve laughed at the absurdity of it all, had it not been for his literal shaking fear.

“Tama-chan kick!”

Turning his head to the left, he came face-to-foot with the host club king’s black polished shoe.

Man, Adriel was always bad at first impressions.


	2. Our Little Secret

*Words in quotations and italics are spoken in the Malay language

“Adriel, are you okay?!”

He woke up to the sound of Haruhi’s worried voice looming over him. Dazed, Adriel opened his eyes and stared back up at her, blinking in confusion.

He pushed himself to a sitting position with his right arm before looking around.

Seven people surrounded him, Haruhi being one of them. Though his vision was still a bit blurry, he could make out a familiar head of blond hair, no doubt belonging to the one who had been stalking them earlier. Come to think of it, were all of them stalking him and Haruhi?

Though still confused and kind of pained, he nodded. “What happened?”

“I...uh,” Haruhi trailed off, still unsure herself as to what just occurred. Awkwardly, she reached over and grabbed his left arm, which still lied on the floor beside them. Handing it to Adriel, she struggled to find the words to describe it. “We fell down the stairs, and I kind of took your arm? Here, you can have it back now”

She placed it in Adriel’s lap, careful as to not damage it. He nodded, saying a small thank-you before grabbing it.

It was too much effort to try and reattach it now. Besides, no one else was in the hallway, and their tour was basically over. It was probably best to just bring it home and see if it had gotten damaged in any way. With his left sleeve hanging loosely by his side, he placed the prosthetic arm in his bag carefully.

In his daze, he still hadn’t noticed the shocked stares from the group around him. In fact, it was like he barely noticed them at all.

“Why does my face hurt?” he asked, only just now realizing how much his left side seemed to be stinging. His rather casual way of addressing the pain was almost laughable, except no one in that moment was in the mood for humor.

Haruhi racked through her head the moments leading up to this prior, having been in shock for the past few minutes. When she recalled what happened, she turned and faced the tall blond standing a few feet away, a deadly glare on her face.

Not that Adriel could see it. Haruhi was on his left; his bad eye.

“Why were you guys following us?!” she almost yelled, scowling at the people around them. From what Adriel could see, the small group seemed to shrink back a bit at the sounds of her voice.

Not that he could blame them. ‘Haruhi’s terrifying when he’s mad’

“Haruhi, we were worried!” the tall blond cried out as he dramatically dropped to his knees in front of them. “Daddy just wanted to make sure you were okay…”

“Daddy?” Adriel mumbled in confusion. Was this some kind of Japanese thing?

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Haruhi retorted in anger. “And quit crying, Tamaki!”

The blond, now known as Tamaki, recoiled back while dramatically crying. He continued to sob in the background as a pair of twins moved into Adriel’s view.

“Didn’t he attack you or something?” they asked in unison, eyeing the tan boy on the floor. It was incredibly obvious that they were talking about Adriel, but he just politely pretended not to hear.

“No, we fell down the stairs together. In fact, it was actually kind of my fault” Haruhi scratched the back of her head as she turned to face Adriel. “Sorry about that”

“It’s cool” he replied with a shrug. “Not the first time this happened”

“Then, you started screaming because…” one of the twins trailed off, staring at the arm in Adriel’s bag. It took a moment for him to realize where the twin was looking.

“Oh, right. I bet this probably scared you a little” Adriel awkwardly responded. “I think the valve came loose when we fell down the stairs. I’ll have to check over it a bit later when I’m home”

Honestly, he wasn’t even offended. When his prosthetics weren’t being hidden by anything, he usually got scared looks on the street anyways. It was pretty understandable the way Haruhi reacted to literally pulling his arm off.

He was just glad her screaming hadn’t drawn any new attention. Adriel had planned on keeping his little secret as so for now.

The host club stared uncomfortably as the situation explained itself. Perhaps they had overreacted a little, over what was just a misunderstanding.

“So, he didn’t try anything?” Tamaki asked, tilting his head in a way that made him look all the more dumb.

“No! You guys shouldn't have even been following us anyways” Haruhi scowled back. She turned around to face Adriel, who seemed much too calm considering what had just happened. “Adriel, are you hurt anywhere? I can take you to the infirmary if you want”

Well, the left side of his face kind of stung after being flying-kicked, but other than that he didn’t feel overtly injured. “No, I’m okay. Just need to walk it off, probably. Are you hurt?”

Haruhi shook her head no.

...and Adriel didn’t see it. She was on his left, out of clear vision.

There was a silence for a few seconds, before Adriel asked again. “Are you hurt, Haruhi?”

“Uh, no?” She seemed a little confused at the interaction, and the host club seemed to agree with her thoughts. 

Blinking hard, Adriel turned his head fully to face the group in front of him. “So, you guys were the ones following us?”

“You noticed?” One of the twins asked in surprise.

“It’s hard not to. There are six of you” he shrugged back.

With that, they basked in an awkward silence for a few moments as the hosts realized the extent as to what they had done.

They had stalked Haruhi, unintentionally caused her to fall down the stairs and attacked the newest student out of assumptions based purely on appearance. At the very least, the tall stoic one and the short blond had the decency to look mildly ashamed.

Small frowns replaced the previously shocked looks on their faces. The short blond spoke first.

“We’re sorry, Min-chan”

“Hm”

The stoic one behind him seemed to grunt in agreement. Adriel only brushed off the apology with a shrug.

“It’s okay”

It was probably the shock getting to him, for he seemed eerily composed this entire time. In reality, Adriel was more than just a little miffed over the situation, but he didn’t let it show. At least he got two apologies.

“Our tour is over, right? I think I need to go home now, Haruhi” Adriel broke the silence. Grabbing ahold of the handrail to his right, he struggled a little to stand up without the balance of his other arm. At least his leg hadn’t been damaged too.

The stoic one seemed to notice his struggling, grabbing a hold of his torso to help him stand up. Once he was up and steady, Adriel offered a brief thank you before limping off, waving his hand.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Haruhi. It was nice meeting you”

Like that, he slowly began to walk away, turning the corner to exit through the front entrance. Haruhi stared for just a moment before turning to face the host club, anger burning in her eyes.

“What is wrong with you guys?!” she yelled, snarling.

Hadn’t they learned from the past that she liked her privacy? More importantly…

“You assumed the worst about Adriel just because of the way he looked, and then attacked him for it! Aren’t you even a little ashamed of yourselves?”

“It was a misunderstanding-” Kyoya attempted to start, only to get cut off by Haruhi.

“Yeah, and you guys didn’t realize it until it was too late” she glared.

The host club looked down at themselves in shame over what they had done. Even Kyoya seemed a little bit embarrassed over what just happened.

Though not all of them were particularly fond of Adriel just yet, they at least knew that what they had done was uncalled for.

‘Good’ Haruhi thought.

“I’m going to go catch up with Adriel. Don’t you dare try following me” she huffed, grabbing her bag and standing up on her own.

“What about club activities?” Kyoya asked, writing in his notebook.

“Add it to my tab, I don’t care. Go bother someone else” she scowled. Without any other words, she took off running the direction Adriel had left in.

The hosts stared at her retreating figure until it disappeared around the corner. A sense of slight shame resonated from within, yet none of them could do anything about it yet.

Yet.

“Adriel!”

He turned his head to face the fellow student running up to him. “Oh, hey Haruhi”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She slowed down, mirroring his walking pace.

The pair continued down the familiar street, gaining numerous stares from on goers. Probably due to the arm sticking halfway out of Adriel’s bag.

“I’m okay enough. Don’t you have club time, though?” he asked, moving so that Haruhi was now on his right side. He shot her a glance from the corner of his eye, noting that she was actually pretty similar in height to him. In fact, Haruhi actually seemed to be a little taller.

Why this occurred to him now out of all times, Adriel had no clue. He would’ve smiled, had his left side not still been stinging.

“Forget them, I was just worried about you. That kick looked really hard” Haruhi muttered, recalling the event. “Here, I can hold your bag if you want”

Contemplating in his head, Adriel let out a small thank-you, shrugging the bag off his shoulder and into her arms. Haruhi took hold of it, noting that the bag was surprisingly light. Adriel was now holding his prosthetic in his right hand, with Haruhi taking his school bag.

“Thank you. My house is just up ahead” he replied.

“Hey wait, you live in that complex too?” Haruhi asked as they neared the small apartment building. The pair stared at each other for a moment, before smiles made their ways onto their faces.

“Wanna walk to school together sometime?” Adriel asked, nearing his front door.

“Sounds good. I actually live right above you” Haruhi answered with a smile. “If you want, we can hang out at my place. I have medical supplies at home”

For a moment, Adriel pondered his choices. Dad was at work, and he was definitely going to struggle with getting his arm back on, as well as treating the bruise forming under his eye. Having some help would be nice.

“Sure. If you’re okay, that is”

“No, it’s cool. Do you need any help up the stairs?” Haruhi asked, walking up a few steps of the cement staircase before offering her hand. Adriel tilted his head in confusion.

“No?”

“Oh, sorry. I just noticed you were limping, and thought maybe you injured your leg too” she sheepishly replied, scratching the back of her neck.

Ah, that was funny. Adriel stifled a chuckle, though an amused smile made its way onto his lips. It grabbed Haruhi’s attention instantly, as she stared with a confused face.

Adriel reached down and lifted his left pant leg, exposing the second prosthetic limb hidden by cloth.

Various valves and rods of metal made up it’s design, cleverly hidden by the loose fabric of his dress pants. From ankle down, he wore black leather shoes on both feet, concealing any signs of the prosthetic from wandering eyes.

They stared at each other for a few seconds in silence before Haruhi let out a small “ohhh” sound. Sheepishly smiling, they walked up the stairs together, with Adriel gripping the handrail as best as he could.

It didn’t take long for them to make it to Haruhi’s house. As Adriel stepped into the small home, he held onto the wall behind him for balance as he took off his shoes. Haruhi placed his bag onto the floor before making her way over to the kitchen. He followed suit, looking around at the house in slight interest.

It had the same architectural design as his own, yet it contained a lot more furniture, almost crowding the small space.

“Here, can you sit on the floor while I go get my medical supplies?”

“Sure”

With surprising ease, Adriel flopped down onto a cushion by the small table and continued to look around. As Haruhi brought over a first aid kit, she noted his curious staring.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Uh…” Adriel trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his thoughts in a way that didn’t sound douchey. After receiving an anticipating look from Haruhi, he gulped before speaking. “Not to sound rude, but how did you afford the uniform? It’s pretty expensive, isn’t it?”

From the way Haruhi’s house looked, down to the small furniture and flickering light bulbs, Adriel had wondered how someone so seemingly middle-class could afford such an expensive outfit. Perhaps a rude thing to wonder, but that couldn’t stop him from thinking.

Thankfully, Haruhi only laughed in response. “This? The host club got it for me after I joined”

She plopped down onto the cushion beside him, opening the kit on her lap. Haruhi pulled out a small ice pack before closing it. “Here, can you hold this just under your eye? That’s where the bruise is”

He took it, pressing the cooling pack against his still-burning skin. It felt good, for the sensation numbed the stingy pain from before. Turning to face Haruhi, Adriel continued to speak.

“Those guys back there were the host club, right?”

“Yeah. Again, sorry for what happened today. They sometimes don’t know when to stop”

“It’s fine”

“And uh, sorry for yanking off your arm. And screaming. And making us fall down the stairs” Haruhi trailed off, looking a bit embarrassed. 

Could you blame her? After everything that happened today, she was sure Adriel would never want to talk to her again. Which sucked, because he was the only person who shared the same love for books as her.

“It’s chill. Sorry for scaring you” Adriel only smiled in return, amusement in his eyes. Come to think of it, the situation seemed almost comical looking back on it. Haruhi blinked before smiling as well.

“Now, about your arm…”

Adriel lifted his dangling left sleeve up, exposing the entirety of his prosthetic. His prosthetic started from the bicep. A black and white socket encased where his “stub” was, ending just above the elbow joint. There was a small metal rod protruding just where the socket ended, with an exposed ball-joint at the end.

He looked over at the prosthetic limb on the floor, picking it up to examine. When they had fallen down the stairs, the forearm link snapped out of place, no doubt being the source of the unsettling noise. The part he was currently holding only extended from the hand to the elbow. The other half of his prosthetic remained in place, having not been affected.

Luckily, it didn’t seem to be damaged any further. All he had to do was attach the forearm back to the elbow joint, and it would be good as new.

“Can you help me attach this back into the joint?” Adriel asked, snapping Haruhi out of her examination. She nodded, taking hold of the black and white forearm.

It took a bit of force, and some squeezing, but the forearm attached snuggly into the metal ball-joint, back into place. As Haruhi sat back, she noted that the entirety of the arm was monochromatic. Even the hand had the same black and white pattern as the rest, giving it a relatively plain appearance. No one had noticed before, given Adriel’s long sleeve and his leather glove.

She was snapped back to reality after realizing that it was rude to stare. After all, Adriel didn’t seem to appreciate their classmate’s gossip. He lowever his sweater sleeve back down, concealing the arm.

“Haruhi?”

“Oh sorry. Is there anywhere else that hurts?”

“No. I’m kinda hungry though” As if on cue, Adriel’s stomach let out a loud growl. His face only remained in a deadpan, making Haruhi laugh. “Got any food?”

“Yeah. Anything in particular?”

At the shake of his head, Haruhi walked over to her kitchen before brewing some tea. Carrying the set back into the living room, as well as some biscuits, she set them on the table. Adriel reached over and grabbed a biscuit, munching away.

He seemed to eat a lot, in the most polite way possible. Perhaps walking with a prosthetic leg was particularly draining. Haruhi took a sip of green tea before setting it down on the table.

“So, you’re here for writing, right?”

Just like that, it was as though they were old friends. Continuing the conversation all the way from before, the pair kept pace with all of their favourite authors, ranging from Jane Austin to Celeste Ng. 

It was lucky of Adriel to find another person so down-to-earth at the elite academy. When he first walked in, there was a slight fear of being ostracized by the rest of the students. Not that it wasn’t anymore true though, as his foreign background and appearance did cause a stir with some more gossipy ones.

Still, to meet the other scholarship student on the first day. And they were another book fan? And they weren’t rude or snobby? Adriel felt like he had won the lottery with this one.

“I like watching shows too. They help give me ideas on writing” Adriel commented. “The library has a bunch to choose from. I’m actually going there later today, which means…”

His eyes widened for a split second as he realized the time. If he were to start on his homework now, then there would barely be any time to make dinner tonight. He had gotten so lost in his conversation, that he had lost track of the clock.

Haruhi noticed his change in tone immediately. “Adriel?”

“Oh no…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Homework” he sighed, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. Haruhi almost laughed at his expression; it was a stark contrast from the normal blank look he held. The pout was actually kind of adorable, though she would never say so aloud.

“Do you want my help? It’ll go by faster if we work together”

“Really?”

“No problem”

“Oh, thanks” He was a little surprised at how welcoming Haruhi was. Adriel wasn’t exactly the most sociable person, as he had been told. Yet, he was glad to have already made a friend so easily, especially one that could help him with schoolwork. “I’m fine with Literature, but I suck at Math”

“Funny enough, I’m good with everything except Literature” Haruhi huffed. “Guess we can, I don’t know, trade secrets?”

They looked at each other before laughing quietly. Just like that, it had turned to a study session.

As expected, it went by a lot quicker with the force of two people together. The snacks on the tea tray ran out quickly, and large notebooks crowded the small table. Whatever couldn’t fit was placed on the floor.

Whilst reviewing the textbook, Haruhi came to realize that Adriel was a bit of a slow reader. He would squint whilst looking at the pages, as though his vision were blurred. Perhaps that was why his notebook was so big, and his handwriting so neat.

“Are you having trouble reading? I can turn on a light” she offered, about to go grab a lamp. 

Adriel looked up in confusion, having almost forgotten where he was during his concentration. Realizing what was being asked, he brushed it off with a shrug.

“I’m a little blind in my left eye. This is just how I normally read”

“Oh, sorry”

“Don’t be. It’s cool”

The words left his mouth rather easily, shocking both of them. Originally, Adriel had planned on keeping his various disabilities a secret; in a school filled with snobby rich kids, who knows what kind of rumors would go around if they knew? Especially since he already had a bit of a bad reputation.

Yet, it felt like Haruhi would understand everything. After all, she already knew about both his prosthetics, and she didn’t even bat an eye. Though he could sense the various questions in his friend’s head, Adriel was pleased to find that Haruhi didn’t press on the topic.

Which was great, because he was kind of tired of intruding questions. It was nice of Haruhi to pay no mind, despite the fact that it was obvious she had inquiries.

They were about to finish up on their homework, when the door was suddenly opened, sliding to the side to reveal someone with red hair. Adriel and Haruhi looked up in surprise at the figure.

“Haruhi, I’m ho-”

The person stopped to stare at Adriel, a frozen smile still on their face. Adriel could see the murderous intent in their eyes clearly, though. 

Time itself seemed to freeze as there was a three-way staring contest between them. Haruhi looked back and forth between the unknown person and Adriel himself, nervous as to what was about to happen.

It was so fast, Adriel had barely registered it. In a split second, the adult grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake vigorously, rattling his entire body.

“Who are you and why are you near my daughter?!”

“Dad!”

Through half-choking, half-gasping, Adriel raised his brows in confusion. “Da-aug-hter?!”

‘I thought Haruhi was a dude…’

The man, now known as Haruhi’s dad, stepped back. “What?”

Taking a (thankful) breather, Adriel slumped back and stared between Haruhi and her dad in confusion. “Haruhi, you're a girl?”

“Well biologically, yeah” she awkwardly responded, seeing the growing rage on her father’s face. 

“...but are you a girl?”

“Oh, yeah! Sorry for the confusion” 

“Okay” he casually responded. Though he had some questions, he didn’t really care all that much. Now wasn’t exactly the time to ask anyways.

Especially when Haruhi’s dad looked like he was going to kill him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Fujioka-san” he spoke politely, not wanting to anger the man any further. He was perhaps a little bit too calm, considering what just happened, but that was just Adriel’s style.

“And who are you?” Haruhi’s dad scowled, gritting the words out.

“Adriel Min, your daughter’s classmate. She was helping me with my work, since I’m new” Adriel explained, gesturing to the books on the table.

The man noticed Adriel’s prosthetic arm, having not been covered by his glove. Yet, he didn’t seem to care.

“Is that all?” he asked, eyebrow twitching in suspicion.

“Adriel and I kind of fell down the stairs at school, so we used the first aid kit” Haruhi gestured at the white kit sitting beside the table. “Tamaki kicked Adriel in the face, so I offered him some help with treating it. He lives just below us, actually”

The man stared between Adriel and Haruhi with suspicion, before breaking out into an eerily happy smile, demeanor completely changing.

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with that blond idiot! My name is Ryoji, but you can just call me Ranka” he laughed, shaking Adriel’s right hand. He returned the gesture with a polite smile.

“It’s nice to meet you. I like your outfit” he calmly responded, glancing at the purple dress and neat makeup. Ranka’s eyes widened, but the smile only grew as well.

“Oh, you’re just the sweetest thing! I’m glad Haruhi has such a nice friend”

“Dad, we were in the middle of studying. Do you need any help with dinner?” Haruhi cut in, looking a little embarrassed. 

Ranka stood back up and smiled, grabbing his purse. “No, I can make it today. Would you like to stay for dinner, Adriel?”

He blinked, a bit taken back. This man literally just threatened him, and was now offering free food?

Well, who was he to not accept? Besides,

‘Dad won’t be home until midnight. He won’t mind’

“Sure, thank you” Adriel softly spoke, a bashful pink tint on his cheeks. 

Ranka clasped his hands together, turning to walk away. “Then, call me if you need anything!”

With that, the eccentric man trotted down the hall, humming to himself. When he was out of earshot, Adriel turned to Haruhi with a look of confusion and slight amusement.

“Your dad is cool”

“Please, ignore him…” she groaned, very clearly embarrassed at the interaction. Adriel chuckled quietly, turning back to his notebook.

“Oh, what are your pronouns by the way?”

Haruhi blinked in surprise, having never actually been asked the question before. Strange, wasn’t it? Considering her situation, you would think she would’ve been asked that question a lot more often.

Yet Adriel was the first. Figuring that there was no real point in hiding it, she decided to just explain everything from the beginning. 

“She/her, but here’s the thing…”

“So, you’re in debt to the host club, and that’s why everyone at school thinks you’re a guy?”

“Yeah, basically”

“And you’re a part of the club” Adriel repeated blankly, still absorbing the information.

“Yep. I’m usually in the club room during lunch and after school. You can visit if you want” Haruhi offered. 

He grimaced a little, recalling her explanation of the host’s activities. Big crowds, loud noises, gossiping classmates… it brought a sense of unfiltered unease.

“I’m good”

Haruhi nodded at that, not bothering to question his answer. She had already kind of expected it anyways. During their conversations, Adriel commented that he didn’t like crowded areas.

“Alright, although if you ever need me, you know where to find me”

By now, they had finished their homework. Just in time, it seemed, as Ranka appeared in the doorway a few seconds later holding a tray of food.

“Dinner’s ready! Come on now, clear your books and let’s dig in!”

And so, they did.

Various dishes littered the table, such as cold tofu, omelette, pickles and natto. It was a bit of a change compared to the food Adriel normally had at his house, but he didn’t mind at all.

Considering, you know, the fact that they lived in Japan.

At some point, he told himself that he was going to someday invite Haruhi and her dad over for dinner at his place. They would probably like the change in cuisine, given the fact that both of them seemed down-to-earth.

He was about to have a refill of rice (the walking from earlier had drained him pretty bad), when Adriel glanced down at his phone. Checking the time, his eyes widened slightly.

“I think I’ll need to go now”

“So soon?” Ranka asked, tilting his head in a pouty manner.

“Yeah, you can stay if you want” Haruhi offered. She was just getting to explaining the best part of her favourite movie.

“Sorry, I have to be somewhere soon. It’s a bit urgent” Adriel apologetically sighed, grabbing his bag. He leaned against the wall for support as he stood up, having done so many times in the past. It was easy for him at this point.

“Alright then…” Ranka pouted. He shook his head and smiled. “Feel free to come by any time!”

“Yeah, we literally live a few metres away” Haruhi laughed.

Adriel smiled as he looked back at the two. He really struck a landing on his first day at school, despite all the less-than-fortunate things that also happened. Offering a silent wave, he walked off, shoehorning his black shoe back onto his feet.

With that, he was out their front door.

Taking a glance at the time, he realized he would have to walk a little faster to make it to the library on time. 

‘My shift starts at 7. I can make it’

With a quiet groan, Adriel opened the front door of his apartment. He closed the door behind him, locking it before leaning against the wall in exhaustion.

Work was never particularly hard, but today there was a group of loud children running around the library. Luckily, Adriel only needed to be behind the front desk, so he had no role in the chasing down process.

It was irritating to listen to their screaming, though. As they were dragged out the front entrance, he had wondered if some of the sounds were even possible given human vocal cords. Either way, at least it was over now.

Making his way through the living room, Adriel finally noticed the head of purple-brown hair behind the sofa. Smiling, he called out.

“Hey dad”

Asher looked around with wide eyes, before a cheery smile erupted on his face. “Adriel! How was your first day?”

“Eventful. I made a friend” Adriel shrugged his bag off, going to grab a snack on the coffee table. Reaching down, he picked up a small roll of haw flakes, opening them using his teeth. He took a seat on the couch beside his father, turning to face the man.

“That’s good. I’m glad the people there are nice” Asher laughed, seemingly a little bit too happy.

‘Let’s go with that’ Adriel sweat dropped. “How was work? You’re home early”

“Oh, don’t remind me. The boss is such a loser” Asher slurred, expression turning dark. It was such a change in tone, Adriel was taken back.

It was only then that he noticed the various bottles of liquor on the coffee table. Each was half full, not even finished before another one was opened. Small pools of red and brown circled the mess, spilling onto the floor underneath. The liquid had spread from the corners to the plastic container of haw flakes; how he hadn’t noticed it earlier, Adriel didn’t know.

It was only then that he noticed the bitter aroma, too. Wine, beer, shots… everything he had grown so used to. At this point, Adriel was an expert at determining the type of alcohol based on smell alone. It made his eyes tingle, watering at the intoxicating scents all mixing together.

“Dad…”

“He’s such a hardhead! I accidentally dropped a stapler, and he started screaming at me over nothing!” Asher loudly exclaimed, raising his hands in frustration. With pink cheeks, he groaned. “Hope he doesn’t take it out of my check. I hate it when he does that”

Adriel only stared, through dulled eyes as his father put his head into his hands. It was silent.

“I’m sorry. I know this isn’t helping you” Asher finally broke the silence. The middle aged man leaned back with half-lidded eyes. He glanced over at Adriel, noticing the bruise on his face. “Hey, how’d you get that?”

“I crashed into a door”

“You sure?”

“Yeah”

“...alright” Asher didn’t bother questioning further. Sitting up again, the two of the made eye contact before staring at the bottles on the table.

So many of them. There were so many.

“Dad, you can’t…”

“I know” Asher grunted. Switching to his native language, the man’s tone softened to the point of being barely there.

The shame was starting to kick in. His glare turned into one of embarrassment and guilt. As he spoke, his voice was riddled with hiccups. “I-I didn’t want to. I w-was frustrated. It sho-uldn’t h-h-have happened”

“It’s okay,” Adriel finally said, grabbing his dad’s shoulder with his right hand. “I know you’re trying”

“N-not try-ing hard e-enough-”

“But it’s progress. You went longer than last time”

It was true. His father had gone a full week without drinking, only broken by tonight. That was longer by two days.

Adriel was proud.

And he was also deeply concerned.

“You know you need to stop” he softly spoke. “You know what happened last time”

“It’s n-not good. I-I-I know. I-I’m s-sorry”

“Don’t apologize. Let’s get you cleaned up”

Hoisting Asher’s hand over his shoulder, Adriel brought his father to his room. By now, the man was no longer hiccupping. Though his short height made it a bit difficult, Adriel did the best he could to lead his father down the hall.

The alcohol had drained his energy completely. Asher remained quiet the entire trip, flopping onto his bed the second they made it. Adriel just barely got his jacket off when his father passed out, snoring loudly. Tucking him in, Adriel stared down at his father’s unconscious body with worried eyes.

Not shame. Not anger. Worry.

“Sleep well” he whispered. Closing the door quietly, he went back to grab his bag before retreating to his own room. 

He flopped onto his twin-sized bed with a sigh.

What a day.

His black leather shoes hit the ground with a quiet thump, drowned out by the music blasting out of his earbuds. It probably wasn’t good to walk on the street listening to music, but Adriel didn’t really care. The sounds helped him ignore the whispering of people around him.

After such an eventful day yesterday, Adriel wondered if today would be just as adventurous. (“Adventurous” was putting it lightly). The stinging on his face had gone away, although the bruise had only grown, now an ugly shade of purple.

He was glad his tanned skin made the bruise slightly less-noticeable. Who knows what kind of rumors would appear if he got any more injuries.

His father was still asleep when Adriel left that morning. Leaving him with some painkillers and a glass of water, no doubt Asher would have a hangover today. The teen hoped his father would at least stomach something for breakfast when he woke up.

Since he didn’t have Haruhi’s number yet (It slipped his mind yesterday), Adriel decided to just walk to school alone today. Perhaps he should ask in homeroom today. It was the only class he shared with her.

‘Best to ask soon. Don’t wanna have to visit the club after school’

Yet, it was as though some god or demon out there had heard his thoughts.

“..in-chan!”

As he walked through the front gates of the school, Adriel could hear the faint calling of what could have been his name. 

Since he had earbuds in, the words were unclear. He just ignored the sound and continued walking.

“..in-chan, wait up!...”

‘Are they talking about me?’

Stopping his music, he pulled his earbuds out, turning to face the source of the sound.

Two people stood a few meters away, stopping when Adriel turned around. He recognized them as the short blond and the tall stoic guy from yesterday. 

The short blond began to speak, a cheery smile on his face. “Min-chan! Are you okay?”

Adriel blinked in confusion, his resting blank look not changing. “Yes?”

“Are you sure? Tama-chan kicks really hard when he’s angry” The blond looked as worried as he was cute. Adriel couldn’t help but smile slightly, just barely on his lips.

“I’m okay”

“You’re limping” the tall guy spoke. It was the first time Adriel had heard him talk, noting how deep his voice was in contrast to the blond’s high pitch.

Looking down at his prosthetic leg, he lifted his black pant leg as he did yesterday for Haruhi. It exposed the metal rod from the shin down, ending inside his black shoe. Though he only held up his pant leg for a few seconds, the pair already got a good look at his second prosthetic.

“Ohhhh…” the blond trailed off, eyes wide. The tall guy’s expression didn’t change much, although Adriel could faintly see his eyes widening as well.

“Keep it a secret, please” Adriel dropped his pant leg down. No one else was near them, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

“Of course, Min-chan!”

“Hm”

Adriel figured there was no point in hiding his leg to them, since they already knew about his arm. It didn’t bother him if others knew, although he would prefer to keep his secret as so when possible.

The pair seemed pretty cool with it though. Despite the obvious questions Adriel could see in their heads, neither of them bothered to ask, which he was grateful for.

“Well that explains a lot! Still, we’re sorry, Min-chan” The blond pouted, beginning to walk again at a slower pace. The pink bunny in his hands swayed side-to-side as Adriel walked alongside them.

“It’s fine. Didn’t hurt that much”

“But still! Even without the kick, we were mean to you too” the blond looked like he was seriously about to cry. 

“No you weren’t?” Adriel, confused as ever, raised a brow.

“We were mean, though! We thought you were scary just because of the way you looked, and we listened to the bad rumors. We even stalked you for it”

“Oh…”

You know, if he didn’t mention it, Adriel wouldn’t have even known the two were guilty of anything. Still, it was nice of the blond to confess. The tall guy nodded at the words, a somewhat ashamed look on his face.

“It’s okay. Stuff happens” Adriel shrugged. 

“So we wanted to make it up to you! Is there anything we can do for you, Min-chan?” 

“Adriel is fine”

“Riel-chan, then!”

Staring at the pair walking alongside him, Adriel looked them both up and down, examining with a blank face. After what felt like an uncomfortably long silence, he finally spoke again. “What’re your names?”

“Oh right! I’m Mitsukuni, but call me Honey! This is Takashi, but everyone calls him Mori” Honey chirped, still cheery as ever. Mori nodded in response, staring down at Adriel’s much shorter figure.

“Honey suits you. You’re sweet” Adriel smiled slightly. His words would have easily been mistaken for flirting, but this was just how normally he spoke. Honey grinned brighter at his words, a faint pink on his cheeks. “It’s nice to meet you two”

“Likewise” Mori returned. As he looked between Honey and Adriel, a small smile found its way on his lips.

“Is there anything you want, Riel-chan?” Honey tilted his head cutely. “We can help you study; we’re third years. Or maybe we can buy you a uniform?”

“Haruhi helps me study. She’s good at the stuff I don’t know” He figured he didn’t need to use he/him pronouns around Honey and Mori, since they knew Haruhi’s secret. Besides, the courtyard was mostly barren except for the occasional students that they were a reasonable distance from.

“What about a uniform?”

“It’s too tight around my arm. I explained it to the headmaster”

That was part of the reason. Clothing that was too tight was always a big pain to try and fit around his prosthetic. He had to do an awkward shimmy-dance just to put it on. It would look even more weird if he got it a couple sizes too big, too.

It was also because the uniform was damn expensive, but Adriel didn’t mention that part.

“That makes sense. But still,” Honey spoke with a wondering look. “We want to do something for you”

Suddenly smiling, the blond turned to face Adriel, beaming bright as ever. “How about you come by the host club today and we have some cake together? Or whatever sweets you like!”

Shivers ran down Adriel’s back at the thought of going into the clubroom. It was everything he didn’t like and more. Not to say that he hated everyone, but just that he preferred having fewer people around him. It felt a lot less overwhelming, and a lot more peaceful.

“I don’t like crowds, sorry”

“Hmm…”

It looked like Honey had almost run out of ideas. Yet, he looked over at his tall companion and the two seemed to share some kind of running thought. Smiling, he turned back to face Adriel.

“Then you can come at lunch! It’ll only be the three of us. We can eat together, and I’ll get you some sweets”

‘Sweets?’

He briefly pondered it in his head. Honey and Mori seemed pretty nice so far, and both of them were cool with keeping his secret. Despite Honey’s sweet attitude, he was more mature than let on, and Adriel could tell. Mori’s calm presence was nice too; something he greatly appreciated.

There was no better way to make friends, which was something Adriel wished to do anyways. Who was he to decline their offer? He wasn’t particularly hurt by their past actions, and was pleased they wanted to make it up to him. It wouldn’t hurt to get to know Honey and Mori better, he decided.

‘Sweets sound nice’

He also had a bit of a sweet tooth. Couldn’t forget that part.

“Do you know what pandan cake is?”


	3. Memories of Home

Black shoes clacking down the hallway, Adriel continued to ignore the whispers he got as he walked by with a blank face. 

“Is that a bruise?”

“Aren’t piercings not allowed?”

“How’d they let a commoner in?”

“He’s kind of cute”

“Don’t say that! Look, he’s coming!”

‘They whisper really loudly’ he thought, rounding a corner. Even with his earbuds in, he could still somehow hear them.

It was lunch time now. As promised, Adriel made his way over to music room three, where Honey and Mori were. Though there was a slight feeling of anxiety in his stomach, he simply brushed it off as not having enough sleep.

They were nice. They also had cake. That was enough of a reason to go.

“Riel-chan! Over here!” a voice called, making him turn off his music. Honey and Mori were waiting outside the music room, the blond on his companion’s shoulders.

“We have cake”

“Yep! Here, come inside”

Adriel nodded as they opened the door for him, holding it as he walked in. With that, he looked around the club room.

The first thing he noticed was that it was big, although that could’ve been chalked up to the fact that it was basically empty too. Pink tables with fancy chairs and table-top flowers littered the room, along with some sofas and coffee tables. There were a few doors to the side of the room, leading who knows where.

The second thing he noticed was that they weren’t alone. A pair of twins, who had been eerily silent, were staring him down the second he walked in. Adriel recognized them as the ones in his homeroom, who sat diagonally from him.

Tamaki and another glasses-wearing host sat on a sofa, talking about their most recent test together. They hadn’t yet noticed his presence, which Adriel was somewhat grateful for.

Haruhi was there too, doing her homework on a stray table. She looked up when the door opened and smiled. “I didn’t know you were coming, Adriel”

Just like that, all eyes were on him. He shrugged, the bag on his shoulder shifting from the weight. “I didn’t either”

Tamaki jumped behind the girl, seemingly cowering in fear. Adriel wondered why, considering the blond had no problem kicking him yesterday. 

“Haruhi, why is he here?!” Tamaki whisper-yelled, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear it. 

‘Are all rich people this bad at whispering?’ he thought. There was no malice behind it, just simple wonder.

“Riel-chan’s going to eat lunch with us!” Honey chirped, shaking the bunny (That Adriel now knew was Usa-chan) around. Mori grunted in agreement.

“I thought we would be alone” Adriel commented, glancing at the third years.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be off to the side at our table” Honey responded. The small blond jumped off Mori’s shoulders before skipping over to a small table. He set Usa-chan down at one of the four seats, turning back with a smile. “I’ll go get the cake from the kitchen!”

With that, he ran off to one of the doors at the side of the room.

“Why does a music room have a kitchen?” Adriel mumbled, though he didn’t bother to question it further. He and Mori took their respective seats at the table, seemingly tuning out all the other stares from the hosts. Though not before he offered a small wave to Haruhi, getting one back.

Ignoring was something Adriel was pretty good at by now. He paid the hosts no mind as he pulled out his bento-box. Mori got his own out too, though it was considerably larger.

It struck Adriel as a bit weird that Honey and Mori brought their own food, but he figured they probably didn’t like what the cafeteria offered. Which was understandable; he preferred home cooking too.

Which was exactly what he brought. Granted, they were just steamed buns that he made in the morning, but they were enough to power him through the day. Taking a bite of one, he looked up to face Mori.

“You and Honey are close”

“Hmm”

“Cousins?”

Mori’s eyes widened slightly, before they quickly went back to their normal blank look. “How did you know?”

“I can see the resemblance,” Adriel simply answered, not bothering to explain further.

Mori had absolutely no clue what Adriel meant by that, but nodded anyways. This time, he broke the silence.

“Are you hungry?”

“Not really. I’m excited for the cake though”

As if on cue, Honey came back in through the door with a green chiffon cake on a tray. He set the tray onto the table before excitedly hopping back into his seat.

“It smells so good! Although I’ve never had pandan before. What’s it like, Riel-chan?” the blond asked, opening his lunch box and diving into what looked like fatty tuna.

“It’s not too sweet. I had it a lot back in Singapore” Adriel smiled slightly. The fond memories of his early childhood were still fresh in his mind.

Singapore was a great place. Not to downtalk Japan, but Adriel simply missed his old home. The humid weather, comforting food, crowded hawkers and underground markets…

Because that was back when he wasn’t afraid of crowds. The good old days.

Honey and Mori watched Adriel’s gentle expression with awe. Rarely did the tan boy show emotion, but it was clear that Singapore had a special place in his heart.

“Is Singapore fun? Takashi and I have never been” Honey commented mid-bite.

It would’ve taken a full hour for Adriel to describe everything he missed about his home country, so he just settled for a short explanation. “Yeah. I miss it. I like Japan too though”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you move?”

“My mom was a film writer. She got invited to join a Japanese entertainment company, so we came here”

Honey and Mori nodded at the response. It made sense; Japan’s entertainment industry was rapidly growing in recent years, so having international writers being flown in was common.

“I see. Film writing is pretty cool, right Takashi?”

“Hm”

“Thank you. She worked in a lot of my favourite movies” Adriel smiled slightly. A small, genuine one; one that was so soft, it was barely there. “She was an amazing writer”

“You like reading, right? Do you want to be an author in the future?” Honey asked. The blond still remembered staring through the glass yesterday at Adriel’s focused figure. Of course, he didn’t say that part aloud.

“Not sure about being an author, but I’m here for writing,” Adriel explained. “I like dramatic more than essay”

“Writing scholarship?” Mori asked with the slight raise of an eyebrow. Adriel nodded in return, taking another bite of his lunch.

The trio somehow managed to miss the rest of the host club (minus Haruhi) listening in on their conversation behind a pillar. That, or Adriel just didn’t care. They continued their conversation, loud enough for all to hear.

Throughout their conversation, Kyoya had been furiously scribbling in his notebook whatever he heard. There was no info in Adriel’s files; only his name and birthdate. How it was possible, the black haired host didn’t know. It was the first time he couldn’t find any background knowledge on a student.

Which kind of infuriated him. Just who was Adriel Min?

“Did you hear that, boss?” Hikaru asked.

“He’s here for writing” Kaoru finished.

“I didn’t expect that” Tamaki muttered, eyeing the tan boy. 

“Yeah, us neither”

“Then again, Adriel doesn’t seem like the scholarly type to begin with”

“What the hell are you guys doing?” Haruhi suddenly appeared behind them, an irritated look on her face. The trio of idiots screamed, jumping to hide behind the pillar from her wrath.

“Haruhi, we were just, uh…” Tamaki trailed off, attempting to explain their actions in a way that didn’t seem incriminating.

Which was pretty hard, since what they were doing was exactly that.

“Didn’t you learn from yesterday? Adriel’s a cool guy, so why are you still stalking him?!” She scowled. “You still owe him an apology, especially you Tamaki!”

“Bu-”

“No buts! Unless you never want me to talk to you again”

The trio shrunk back in fear before dramatically crying. As all of the hosts slumped away back to their own tables, Adriel didn’t even notice at all. Perhaps it was because the hosts in hiding were on his left side.

Or perhaps it was because as it turns out, he and Mori had the same taste in music. 

“Gorillaz needs more coverage, especially Murdoc. Seriously underrated bass lines” Adriel’s eyes were full of stars as he spoke with vigor. Finally, he had someone who shared his passion in music! The tall third year nodded in agreement.

“You know, I play sometimes” Mori hummed, watching in amusement as Adriel’s face completely lit up in awe.

(This is a personal headcanon I always had about Mori)

His wide-eyed admiration was actually kind of cute, though Mori didn’t say that aloud. He chuckled at the expression.

“The bass? You need to play for me sometime. That’s sick”

“Sounds good”

Adriel leaned back with a smile, kicking his feet back and forth in excitement. By now, the three had finished their lunches and were enjoying the pandan cake. There was no frosting or icing whatsoever; just soft, fluffy sponge.

Just the way Adriel liked it.

“Hm! This cake is so good, I’m surprised” Honey commented, starting his second slice with a grin. “I thought it would be boring since there’s no icing, but it’s perfect!”

“Icing would make it too sweet. I like it this way” Adriel responded, taking another bite. “Thanks for the cake, by the way”

“No problem!”

“Hm”

And so they ate, continuing their conversation wherever it went; from movies and music to hobbies and past-times. By the end, Adriel had learned the rest of the host club’s names, as well as their grade years. 

“Ah, that was delicious!” Honey smiled, having straight-up demolished almost the entirety of the cake. 

The lunch period was almost over now. Soon, they would have to return to their regular classes as per usual. Though Adriel had been somewhat nervous when he first entered, he could now say that he enjoyed Honey and Mori’s company.

The blond sat back up and looked towards Adriel with puppy dog eyes.

That was never a good sign.

“Riel-chan, are you going to come by after school?”

Adriel sighed slightly, already dreading having to answer. It was hard, but he wasn’t going to fall for Honey’s pleading as cute as it was. “No”

“Aww, okay. You know where to find us, though!” Honey beamed up again. The short blond pulled out his phone and opened his contacts. “How about we trade numbers, too?”

“Sure” Adriel simply answered, pulling out his own phone. He was already planning on getting Haruhi’s number anyways, might as well add Honey and Mori too. Besides, they were kind of friends now, weren’t they?

The exchange was short. Adriel simply added Honey and Mori’s numbers to his small list of contacts. Glancing down at his slightly-longer list, he smiled at the two new names.

‘Tall and Small, perfect’

Thanking them quietly, he shrugged on his bag before getting ready to stand up. Mori gave him a hand, pulling him to his feet. With nods of farewell, Adriel walked over to where Haruhi was sitting.

“Can I have your number?”

“Oh, yeah. Just let me get out my phone”

The interaction was fast and brief, but neither of the two minded. Somehow, they politely ignored Tamaki’s useless screaming in the background as they added their new contacts.

“Mommy, did you see that?! He asked for her number!” The king shouted. Kyoya gave him a cynical smile, adjusting his glasses.

“And?”

“We don’t even have her number yet!”

“Actually, I do. You don’t” Kyoya simply answered, not bothering to explain further. Tamaki sputtered out some chaotic nonsense ebefore sulking into his corner of mushrooms, mumbling to himself.

With a short goodbye and a promise to walk to school together tomorrow, Adriel left Haruhi, exiting the clubroom. He walked past the twins without even noticing them or their curious stares.

‘Three friends on my second day. Nice’

Adriel smiled slightly as he walked through the hall, on his way to his Math class. Not because of the subject itself, but because of the new contacts sitting in his phone. 

Today was a good day.

As he walked by, the lingering students in the halls continued their whispering. They were good at that, he noted.

“He’s scary”

“Why does my girlfriend think he’s hot?”

“What’s he smiling for?”

“He probably just beat someone up”

“How’d they let him in?”

It was only his second day, but Adriel could notice the whispers starting to get worse. Sitting through Math class felt like an eternity with all the stares he got.

Some in attraction, some in despise.

They weren’t even whispering at this point; Adriel could very clearly hear the group of students behind him talking openly about his various scars. “Dangerous” was how they described them.

The scars dotted the left half of his body, stretching from his thigh all the way to his face. Though only his face was uncovered, the group still managed to catch a brief look before beginning to talk.

Talking rather loudly, if Adriel could point out.

The teacher didn’t even do anything to stop it. As Adriel continued to write whatever was on the board, he wondered how it was possible for Mr. Hanyu to not be hearing the conversation.

Or perhaps Mr. Hanyu was hearing it loud and clear, but didn’t care enough to stop it. Adriel didn’t rule that out either.

“Freak”

“He’s gotta go”

“He’s kind of cute…”

“Shut up Tony!”

Adriel held no malice to the boys behind him. Or rather, he honestly just didn’t care. He was good at ignoring things; perhaps a little bit too good for his own good. So, he carried on with his reading.

But the rumors weren’t going to disperse that way. With time, they would only grow worse and worse.

The rest of his day was mostly uneventful. Before he knew it, the bell had rung and school was over. Adriel waited a good five minutes for the halls to clear out before leaving the classroom, gratefully pleased at how empty they were.

He did this at his old school too. The hallways were a bad place to get stuck in, and Ouran was not exempt from the chaos of crowding. Sighing, he prepared for his walk home.

He had made it all the way down the hall when he felt something hit his foot, the bit of resistance being sent up his left leg. Stopping, he looked down at whatever he stepped on.

A strange cat puppet stared back up at him, eyes wide and unblinking. Bending down, he picked it up before looking around the barren hallway.

The only thing he was met with were big, clear windows and pink walls. No one was in sight. Turning the puppet around in his hands, he noticed a scribble of writing on the back of the puppet.

Property of the Black Magic Club

Please return to the North Building’s basement if lost

He tensed slightly, realizing where exactly that was. He saw the sign earlier in music room three. It was on one of the doors off to the side of the club room, no doubt leading to the 

Never did Adriel ever want to go near that hallway during club hours, but it seemed he had no choice. He wanted to return the puppet; club hours were the only time he could do so and be sure it got in the right hands.

He wasn’t even phased at the fact that there was a Black Magic club at school. Hell, the host club was weirder to him.

‘Also, this cat is kind of cute’

Dread pooling in his stomach, he turned back around to go down the stairs. He hoped this would be quick.

The chattering of students and dramatic acts put on by the hosts made him recoil as he stood in front of Music Room 3.

As it turned out for some god-awful reason, there was no door connecting the North building’s basement to the hallway. The only way to the Black Magic club was through the Host club’s side door.

Yay for Adriel.

‘What kind of architectural design is that?’ he internally groaned, gulping deeply. The hand that was holding the puppet began to grow clammy as he stood outside the closed doors.

All he had to do was enter, stay to the side and return the puppet. It would only be a few seconds. He probably wouldn’t even be seen by anyone. With a shaky sigh, he reached forward and quietly opened the door, struggling a little since the puppet was still in his right hand.

It opened with a slight creak as Adriel went in, staying by the wall out of sight. He kept his head down, staring only at the ground in hopes that it would somehow make him less noticeable.

He didn’t even need to look at the host club’s interior to know it was crowded. The sounds of talking coming from the now-populated tables were enough to tell him to hurry up. From afar, he could hear squealing, laughter and polite chatter amongst the hosts and their guests.

What wonderful noises they were, if only they weren’t so loud. Adriel would clamp his hands over his ears if only they weren’t full.

Luckily, no one seemed to spot him as he quickly entered the black magic clubroom. Except Kyoya.

Kyoya was about to approach the tan boy to ask what his business was, but stopped after seeing how quickly Adriel was walking. He watched as Adriel disappeared into the side door without a trace. Though he raised a brow, Kyoya decided it would be best not to hound him. Adriel seemed stressed enough already.

“That was close…” Adriel slumped against the closed door with a sigh, dreading having to open it again later. He opened his eyes to peer around.

The only thing he could see was a narrow, winding staircase leading downwards. It was so dark he could only barely make it out. With nowhere else to go, he began to slowly walk down the staircase, holding onto the handrail the entire time.

After what felt like a long amount of walking, Adriel made it to the end. The staircase led into a small room, with (thankfully) only a few people inside.

The magenta walls were decorated with various bookshelves and artifacts, casting shadows across the smooth surface. The only source of light came from a table with a candelabra on it, sofas arranged beside it. Pentacles were pasted everywhere, from patterns on the carpet to scrolls on the wall. 

Hooded figures sat on the sofas, talking amongst themselves. From what he could see (Which wasn’t much, considering the dim light and blurred vision), there were only five people. It was manageable enough for him to not feel immediately anxious.

They hadn’t yet noticed him, too busy talking amongst themselves.

“Where is he?! Beelzeneff cannot be mistreated like this again!” the loudest member exclaimed, frantically looking around at the others.

“Calm yourself, leader. Beelzeneff will be alright on his own” the only girl answered blankly.

“She’s right, Umehito” a blond commented.

“Don’t we have spares?” a pair of twins spoke in unison, holding their own puppets. They distinctly reminded Adriel of the Hiitachins, oddly enough.

“Not anymore. He was our last” ‘Umehito’ cried, slumping down in dramatic misery. The other members offered him pats on the back, unable to provide any other help.

Now was probably the time to introduce himself. He cleared his throat, alerting the occultists of his presence. 

“Hi. I think you dropped this”

He held out the cat puppet. Almost instantly, the leader jumped forward and grabbed it, making Adriel step back. ‘Umehito’ turned it over on all sides, as if analysing its state. When he was finished, he turned to Adriel with a grin.

“Why, thanks to you, fellow student! And what may your name be?” he asked, slipping the puppet onto his hand.

“Adriel Min. Nice to meet you”

“Splendid! Oh, absolutely splendid indeed!” the figure laughed. It would’ve been creepy to anyone else, but Adriel only offered a nod in return. The leader stopped, though his smile remained. “My name is Nekozawa Umehito. Welcome to the black magic club. Are you perhaps a fellow occultist?”

“Not really. My friend Aaron is into Wicca, though” Adriel shrugged, looking around the small room. “This place is pretty cool”

“This is our clubroom. That over there is Reiko; my vice president” Nekozawa pointed to the girl, who offered a blank-faced wave.

“Welcome. Would you like to sit in on our ritual today?” she asked, tilting her head. The other club members nodded at her question, as if asking alongside.

Adriel paused. Right now, the host club was in full swing. He really didn’t want to have to pass through there again. Besides, he didn’t have much homework today, and his shift got cancelled.

What harm would it be?

“Am I allowed to?”

“Of course! We hold daily meetings after school. Feel free to come anytime” Nekozawa grinned, waving Beelzenef in front of Adriel’s face. “If you ever want to join, we would always welcome another member”

“How about I watch you for today?” he asked, walking towards where the sofas were. He took a seat, setting his bag down beside him.

Nekozawa seemed to only grin wider somehow. “We would be honoured”

Reaching his apartment at last, Adriel wondered if perhaps his dad had made dinner already. Normally he was tasked with the chore, but he had come home a bit later today.

As it turns out, the Black magic club seemed to enjoy his presence, especially Nekozawa(Who insisted Adriel called him Umehito). He was offered a place as a member, but Adriel politely declined. He still wasn’t sure what club he wanted to join, or if he wanted to join one at all.

Nevertheless, he made new friends that day. Umehito’s phone number was added to his growing list of contacts. He patted his phone with a smile, pausing to turn down the music from his earbuds.

After club hours were over, Umehito and the rest of the club seemed rather understanding of Adriel’s hatred of crowds. They let him stay in the clubroom until music room 3 had cleared out, before he left. It was a bit annoying to have to cross through another room just to get to the basement, but Adriel promised to be back tomorrow.

Entering the apartment, he shifted his shoes off and kicked them onto the rack. Instantly, the smell of aromatic spices hit his nose, reminding him of how hungry he was. Blinking in surprise, he made his way across the living room to the kitchen.

Asher was humming to himself, stir-frying a wok of yam and abacus seeds. He turned around when he heard Adriel's footsteps, smiling.

“How was school?” he asked, his native language sounding much clearer than it did last night. Adriel coughed before answering.

“Good. I made a few more friends”

“That’s good to hear. Are you hungry?”

“Kind of. When will dinner be ready?”

Asher hummed, looking around the kitchen at the various other ingredients he had prepared. “Maybe thirty minutes or so. Go get some rest before then”

Adriel nodded, leaving it at that. He walked down the small hallway, opening the door to his room.

It was obviously small, yet not cramped either. On a small rack displayed his past prosthetics that he had collected over the years, having grown out of. They were kind of like souvenirs to him, he supposed.

A wooden desk and twin-sized bed laid right beside each other, with a table lamp resting on the desk’s surface. A small shelf held the books and movies Adriel currently had borrowed from the library. The shelf also held filled-out notebooks from the past, tucked neatly together.

There were some other things in the room too; a small collection of crystals on his window sill, some band posters and a wooden dresser.

He walked over to the bed and sat down, setting his bag on the ground. Blowing a stray hair from his face, Adriel could still hear his father humming in the kitchen.

Asher seemed to be in a good mood today, no traces of last night’s hangover present. Perhaps he got paid today? Either way, Adriel hoped things would continue as they were for now.

He hoped his father wouldn’t reach for another bottle anytime soon.

Shivering a little, Adriel only then realized just how cold he was. It was already dark outside, a cool breeze drifting in through the open window. Walking over, he closed it promptly before turning around and exiting his room.

He passed the kitchen, getting another waft of what smelled like sea cucumbers. His father was still humming to himself, now whistling too. Smiling briefly, Adriel entered the living room where the thermostat was.

He flipped the old cap up, ready to press a few buttons when Adriel froze. There was no light whatsoever coming from the empty screen. No words, no numbers, no sign of it being in power. Flipping the cap closed again, he glanced over at the various papers on the coffee table.

One caught his attention. It was dated to today, clearly the most recent bill. Picking it up, Adriel strained his eye slightly to read the small print.

Min Asher,

You are four weeks behind your heating bill. I cannot give you anymore allowances for now. I have turned off your apartment’s thermostat. Please pay as soon as possible. Failure to do so will result in the cease of your apartment’s heating system.

Landlady

Reading it over, he flipped the bill over and checked how high it would be.

His eyes practically popped out of their sockets.In that moment, Adriel suddenly didn’t feel that hungry anymore. He glanced back at the kitchen where his father was still cooking and sighed, folding up the bill and placing it in his pocket.

It was more expensive that week. It had been raining for all of the weekend, and they decided to turn on the heater. Adriel knocked himself in the back of the head, recalling the memory. He should’ve just worn another jacket instead!

Walking back to his room, Adriel realized that he needed to take some money from his earnings to pay. Normally, his job at the library was enough to cover groceries, and Asher’s money was used to pay for bills. But after reading the price of this week, it was clear that more money needed to be used.

But then there wouldn’t be enough money for groceries. But then he couldn’t pay the bills. But then he couldn’t eat dinner tomorrow.

Adriel groaned slightly, contemplating his choices. Come to think of it, he and Asher barely ever used the heater anyways. It was only spring, and summer was coming soon. Perhaps they could just tough it out if it got cold?

His father wasn’t home most of the time anyways. What good would it be to pay for heating if only one person used it?

Then it was decided. Crumpling the paper, he entered his room and threw the bill into his trash can. If it got cold, so be it. He could always just put on another layer.

Adriel sat down at his desk, shivering slightly. He draped a wool scarf over his shoulders and grit his teeth, determined to ignore the icy air. With shaky hands, he pulled a page from his notebook and began to write.

As he wrote, Adriel’s mind began to clear. Letting the ink of his pen flow across the white sheets, he smiled.

Mom,

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I made some new friends at school. Ouran wasn’t as scary as I thought. Dad was right about it.

One of my friends is the girl who lives right below us. It’s weird; Haruhi has been living there her entire life, yet we had somehow never ran into each other before. Either way, she’s pretty cool. She’s the other scholarship student; for academics, that is. Haruhi has a good taste in literature. We kind of geeked out on the first day.

I also met Honey and Mori too. They’re cousins, which is funny because no one else could see the resemblance except me. They both do martial arts; karate and kendo respectively, although they practice other styles too. Maybe someday I could watch them in action? It’s pretty cool.

Honey is sweet; his name suits him. I’m glad I finally met someone shorter than me. I knew I would some day. Curse me for getting stuck with your height!

Mori is a cool guy. We both like the same type of music. He plays the bass too. I gotta hear him play at some point. I can tell we’ll be good friends in the future. 

I also met Umehito today too. He’s the leader of the black magic club. I actually watched one of their rituals today. It was fun. I think I might go back tomorrow, if I can somehow get there before the host club opens. Umehito would get along well with Aaron.

I ate some good food this week too. They reminded me of you. Granted, I could only ever be half as good of a chef as you, but I’m improving, I think. Dad’s making dinner tonight though, it’s been a while since he’s done that.

I hope this is a sign he’s getting better. Maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but you never know. His liver has gotten better since last time, although I don’t want to test it. He’s struggling with work right now. We’re both trying as hard as we can.

I hope I can make you proud. It’s the least I could do. I’ll be back with another letter soon.

Thank you,

Adriel

He closed off the letter with a small heart, smiling down at the page. Then, Adriel pulled a lighter from his drawer.

First thing he did was turn off the table lamp he had been using to write. The only remaining source of light came from the window, which didn’t provide much given it was night. Standing up, he walked over to the window sill. There was a glass plate on it, clean as new from the last time he wrote to his mother. Adriel placed the letter onto the plate, far from anything that could end up burning. He opened the window slightly and grabbed the lighter. Flicking with his thumb, a small blue flame emerged.

The flames caught the edge of the page, spreading up in a trail of blue and orange heat. He placed the lighter to the side, done with it.

He watched as the page slowly began to disappear, turning black, then into grey ash. It was mesmerizing, honestly. The warmth of the flame was enough to stop his shivering, dimly casting an orange glow across the dimly-lit room. The ink words burned into wispy trails of grey smoke, rising up out the open window into the sky. They flew up as far as the eye could see into the pitch-black canvas.

He hoped it reached the heavens. Where his mother was awaiting, ready to receive her weekly letter.

He hoped she was smiling. He hoped she was proud. He hoped she knew how much he missed her.

When the page was gone and the flames died down, all that was left was a bit of ash left over on the plate. The rest had turned to smoke, escaping through the window.

Adriel stared up at the night sky. It was so dark; this part of town didn’t have that many lights. It was one of the benefits of living in a rural area, he supposed.

He continued to stare for a while, a smile on his face. 

“Dinner’s ready!”

He turned back to the door, stomach rumbling once again. Giving one last glance up at the dark sky, he turned around and exited the room.

“Coming!”


	4. The Difference Between the Twins

The next few days were rather uneventful. As Adriel settled into his new high school life, his nerves started to ease up. It was Thursday of his second week at school now.

His writing had been getting better. Already in the first week he had finished the tasks Suoh-san had asked from him. Haruhi helped with the subjects he was bad at too; in return, he helped her with Literature.

He had a new routine now; walk to school with Haruhi, eat lunch with Honey and Mori, visit the Black Magic club after school and go to work after dinner.

He was now an official member of the Black Magic club too. Despite only knowing them for a bit, Adriel felt more welcome there than any other club at school. It was probably because the rest of the club understood his hatred of loud noises.

It was also because they were the only people who didn’t listen to the rumors on his appearance.

After school, Adriel would wait five minutes before heading to the club room. When in Music Room #3, he would stare at the ground, quickly making his way to the Black Magic club’s door. Though he was lucky to have been mostly unnoticed the first time, he could feel stares on his back the second and third.

The rumors were only growing worse. No one dared to harass him yet, in fear of his appearance. But it would only be a matter of time before it happened, and it was coming soon.

“I heard he joined the Black Magic Club”

“What a freak”

“Did you hear he hangs out with Haruhi too?”

“I saw them walking to school together”  
“Honey and Mori seem close to him too”

“Why do the hosts like him?”

And as always, Adriel practiced the art of not caring. Until one day, he managed to catch another pair of eyes.

“Let’s play the ‘Which one is Hikaru’ game!” the twins grinned, tipping their green hats in unison. Their guests answered with sheepish smiles, unable to tell the difference between the two.

The host club was currently in full swing. It had only opened a few minutes ago, but already guests were crowding the tables, clinking cups of tea against their saucers. Hikaru and Kaoru’s guests seemed to be especially enthusiastic at their little game.

Haruhi wasn’t, though. “That’s the stupidest game I’ve ever heard of”

“What, you’ve got a problem Haruhi?” they asked in unison, placing their hands on their hips as if to challenge the natural host. 

“Not really. I just don’t know why you guys are so popular” She sighed, turning around to face them. 

Hikaru stuck his tongue out, sliding up behind her with a teasing expression. “How disappointing. Don’t you know the merits of having two good-looking guys with homosexual tendencies in the club?”

“And since we’re twins, our relationship is even more taboo, therefore more interesting” Kaoru finished, sliding up to where his brother was standing. They high fived each other in the background as Haruhi sighed. 

‘What am I gonna have for dinner today?’ she thought, completely ignoring whatever shenanigans the twins were up to behind her. She was broken out of her trance at Tamaki’s loud yelling, turning to face the computer he was holding.

A shirtless, clearly edited photo of her was pasted onto the computer’s home screen. The host club’s King continued to yell out gibberish as people began to crowd around, staring at the photo.

“Wow, Haru-chan. You look great!” Honey smiled.

“You shady twins! You bribed her, didn’t you?!” Tamaki screeched at them, not any smarter than he was a week ago. The twins deadpanned, staring down at their leader in mock disappointment.

“You’re imagining things, Boss” Kaoru shrugged.

“We did a good job with the photoshop, didn’t we?” Hikaru smirked. Tamaki sputtered out something completely inaudible before kneeling down in front of them with a magazine he pulled out of nowhere.

“Can you please photoshop her into this idol magazine too?” he pleaded with puppy-dog eyes. He looked way more creepy than he did innocent. Only Honey could pull off puppy-dog eyes.

“Don’t be ridiculous, boss”

“Why don’t you just ask her yourself?”

“I’ve never thought about that,” he mumbled, scratching his chin. Tamaki turned around to face Haruhi with a grin, pulling a dress out of thin air (Where do these things keep coming from?).

“Haruhi, will you please wear this darling?” He begged with a wide smile. Guests began to surround them, murmuring about how cute Haruhi would look in a dress.

She internally groaned, silently understanding why Adriel hated crowds so much. 

“Cut it out, you guys. No more weird photos of me! Who do you take me for?” Haruhi turned to the twins, eye twitching.

They only smirked back, brushing her anger aside with shit-eating grins. Looking amongst themselves, it was clear that the answer wasn’t something she wanted to hear.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“You’re our toy”

As the twins began to mindlessly ramble about life and toys and whatnot, they failed to notice Adriel entering the room. 

Staring down at the floor silently, he prayed no one would notice him on his way to the Black Magic Club. 

Only to come face-to-face with Umehito, who for some reason came out of the clubroom today. “Umehito?”

“Toys, toys, if you want a toy then come down to the black magic club!” The cloaked third-year eerily croaked, a wide smile on his face. Adriel, who still had no clue what was going on, paled as Umehito’s words drew the hosts’ eyes.

The twins, Tamaki and Haruhi looked over at the basement’s door, where Adriel and Umehito were standing.

“Why’s he talking through a crack in the door?” Haruhi tilted her head, only then noticing Adriel’s presence. “Oh, hey dude”

“Hi” Adriel whispered, hoping to not draw any more people near him.

“Nekozawa likes to hide. He doesn’t appreciate brightly-lit places” Kyoya commented with a not-telling smile.

The hosts began to talk amongst themselves, discussing the truths and nots of Black Magic. As they did, Adriel turned back to Umehito with a confused glance.

“Leader, why did you come out today?”

“Why, I overheard them talking about toys, and wondered if perhaps they would be interested in a Beelzenef!”

“Oh okay”

Adriel still had no clue what was going on, but nodded anyways. Luckily, no one seemed to be getting closer to him, so he still felt fine being out in the open.

“You shouldn’t underestimate the power of Beelzenef! All you have to do is write the name of someone you want to curse on his back, and their life will be ruined!” Umehito suddenly yelled at the twins, desperately attempting to convince them.

“This guy is dark in more ways than one”

“Wonder what he’ll think of this?”

The twins smirked, pulling flashlights out of nowhere. Shining them on Nekozawa, the cloaked teen screeched in agony. 

In the blink of an eye, he zoomed past Adriel into the Black Magic room, slamming the door behind him. Adrie couldn’t even ask if his senpai was okay; that’s how fast it happened.

“Hey Haruhi, can we come to your house at some point?” The twins boredly asked, nudging her shoulders with mischievous smiles. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

“No”

“Please?”

“No”

“Please?”

“How many times do I have to repeat it? You’re just going to make fun of me anyways” Haruhi huffed, turning away from the twin’s nagging.

“Maybe it’s a rich people thing?” Adriel blankly asked, making Haruhi turn to face her tanned friend. “Your house is cool, though. Nothing to worry about”

Haruhi smiled. “Thanks, dude”

“Did you hear that?! First walking together, now they’ve been to each other's houses!” Tamaki screeched at Kyoya, pointing at the exchange. The glasses-wearing teen only shrugged, making the blond shrink back into his weird little corner.

At this point, Adriel wasn’t even phased anymore.

“It’s because we live really close, Tamaki” Haruhi sighed at the blond’s antics. “Like, literally just a few metres away”

“That’s a shocker,” Hikaru commented, raising his brow. “Who knew the only two commoners”

“Would live so close to eachother?” Kaoru finished, tilting his head.

“Why don’t you tell us where she lives, Min?” They asked in unison, switching their target. The twins stalked up to him, leaning over their shorter classmate with grins Adriel could only describe as sinister.

He leaned back in slight discomfort over how close they were.

“No”

“Then can we go to your house then?”

“No”

“Please?”

Adriel began to feel sympathy for Haruhi, being in her exact position a few minutes ago.

Why did they even want to go to his house anyways? It wasn’t like he was close with the Hitachiins; they barely ever talked to each other. In fact, had Honey and Mori not told him their names, Adriel wouldn’t even know who they were. This was the first time they had ever approached him, other than the fiasco that happened on his first day.

Adriel realized that the only reason why they wanted to see his house was to find out where Haruhi lived, too.

“Fine, we’ll settle this with a game!” The twins turned their noses up, sliding their green hats back into place. Before Adriel could even decline, they spun around, stopping after a few seconds in a different order.

“If you can’t pick out who’s Hikaru, the penalty will be us coming to your place and you showing us where Haruhi lives” They spoke in unison, smirking down at Adriel.

The game had been rigged from the start. Already, the twins were planning on their rehearsed answer. Whether or not Adriel guessed correctly didn’t matter, now did it? They just needed him to randomly choose, and the game would be over in their favour.

Unfortunately for them, Adriel’s answer was something neither of them predicted.

“No”

“Wrong! We win-”

The twins stopped, too off-put by Adriel’s answer to continue. Clearing his throat, Hikaru plastered on his mischievous smile again, though his falter did not go unnoticed. “Sorry, what was that?”

“I’m not playing” Adriel blanked, turning around to enter the black magic club.

“Oh come on! Why not?” Kaoru asked, running in front of Adriel in an attempt to block his way. 

“I’m going to lose” the tan boy simply answered with a shrug.

It was true; Adriel had no clue the difference between the Hitachiins. 

Could you blame him, though? The trio had almost never interacted with each other up until now. It would be impossible for Adriel to tell the difference, given the circumstances.

“Are you that unsure of your answer?” Hikaru huffed, starting to get annoyed with Adriel’s lack of response. “Come on, won’t you at least try?”

“I barely know your names” Adriel blankly stated, making both of them blink in surprise. “I can’t win when I’ve never interacted with the two of you before. You’re identical to me”

“So? Won’t you even guess?” Kaoru attempted to nudge Adriel, as if coaxing an answer out of him.

But Adriel already had an answer, and it was something neither of the twins wanted to hear.

“I’ve never had the chance to get to know you” Adriel simply said, side-stepping Kaoru to open the black magic club’s door. “You can’t expect me to win”

With that, he promptly shut the door in their faces, disappearing into the basement.

The twins stared at the door for a long time, unmoving. No one had ever given them that answer before.

“You can go on ahead, Haruhi. I need to see the headmaster first” Adriel nodded to his friend, entering the front doors of Ouran. 

It was the next day. After leaving music room three the day before, Adriel had mostly gone about his day as usual, exiting the Black Magic clubroom once the Host Club cleared out. 

He wasn’t around to see it, but apparently Hikaru and Kaoru had gotten into a fight. Haruhi explained it to him as they walked to school that morning. Something about Hikaru being mischievous, and getting butthurt and stuff.

Adriel tuned it out mostly. He didn’t really care.

“What for?” Haruhi asked as they passed the lockers.

“I need to hand in my writing pieces. I’ll be back soon” 

Haruhi nodded and offered a small wave of goodbye. Returning the gesture, Adriel walked up the stairs to the office. 

The meeting with Suoh-san was brief. The headmaster was honestly really easy to impress. Adriel felt quite proud of his work; writing to him was as natural as breathing. It was something he had practiced for years, following his mother’s footsteps.

With a gentle farewell and a reminder to be back again in two weeks, Adriel was off to homeroom again. Luckily, it was still early and few students lingered in the halls. Still, the tan boy felt the need to walk by a bit faster in anticipation of the hallways getting crowded.

He opened the homeroom door, entering without looking up. “Hey, I’m back-”

He looked up and blinked in straight-up bewilderment.

Chaos.

Chaos everywhere.

Flying chairs, tables, Honey for some reason???? The various items flew around the room, being thrown by no other than the twins, who were busy yelling profanities to each other. Haruhi sat frozen in the middle of it all, not bothering to try and stop them.

It was a good thing it was still early, and there were barely any people in the class. Still, Adriel felt quite uncomfortable at the amount of noise the twins had created. Had it gotten any louder and he would’ve just left in discomfort.

“Is this a Japanese thing?” he mumbled, looking around at the mayhem.

“Hey, Min!” Hikaru yelled, stopping his actions in favour of walking over. He stared at Adriel with a smirk; one that hid his unknown intentions. “Do you see my hair? From now on, I’m the pink-haired twin!”

Adriel tilted his head. “Who are you again?”

Hikaru paused slightly, turning to glare at the tan boy. “It’s me, Hikaru! Isn’t it obvious?”

“No, not really” Adriel simply stated, walking past him to get to his desk. He missed the wide-eyed expression from Hikaru.

“Well, you know now. Never get us mixed up again!” Kaoru pointed at Adriel with an accusatory tone. “I never want to be associated with Hikaru, ever!”

“Is that why they dyed their hair?” Adriel asked Haruhi, who seemed to be done-with-their-shit. He got a nod from the girl in return, confirming his beliefs.

“See, we’re completely different from each other!” Hikaru grinned, sliding up beside him. “No one will ever mistake us for the other again!”

“I mean, I guess” He bluntly responded with a blank face. “I still don’t know the differences between you two, though”

The twins froze, staring at each other briefly as if communicating. 

Couldn’t Adriel see their physical differences? It was obvious who was who now, so why insist that they were still so similar?

It made Hikaru more than a little annoyed, both externally and internally. Like salt in the wound, he supposed. 

It made Kaoru a little hurt, too. He felt his chest tighten slightly at the words.

“Uh, don’t you have eyes? Use them, smart one!” Hikaru yelled at Adriel.

He wasn’t just playing an act anymore. He stood up, glaring down at the shorter male. Perhaps it was Adriel’s blunt remarks that dug into Hikaru’s pride, but in that moment the pink-haired boy wanted nothing more than to hit something. “We’ve changed now! Look at us, can’t you see our differences?”

“Hikaru, calm down” Haruhi attempted to soothe the angry twin. Honey (Who was still there for some reason) nodded in agreement.

“Someone who’s blind wouldn’t be able to” Adriel simply said, turning a page in his notebook. ‘This guy yells really loudly’

“Why does that even matter? You’re not blind” Kaoru narrowed his eyes, hiding the hurt behind them. No one had ever been as blunt as Adriel about their ignorance before. It was a change of pace, but not one that made Kaoru feel any better.

‘I beg to differ’ Adriel held himself back from responding. Instead, he flipped another page. “Honey, do you want to eat lunch together today?”

“Oh, the club is going to eat in the cafeteria today! I hear they’re serving cake” the blond third-year smiled. “Do you want to join?”

“I think I’ll find somewhere else to eat, sorry” Adriel grimaced at the idea of the cafeteria. Too many people, too much noise… it was just a disaster waiting to happen.

“Okay. I’ll see you later, then!” Honey hopped off the desk he was sitting on, Usa-chan in his arms. Adriel waved goodbye as the blond disappeared behind the door, before turning back to face Hikaru.

The pink haired twin was glaring. Hard.

“What?” Adriel rose a brow.

“Are you acting dumb on purpose?”

“Ouch”

“We even dyed our hair for this! Do you seriously not see the difference between us? Kaoru asked, making Adriel turn his head.

“No. You could just switch hair colours again, and I wouldn’t know” he answered before looking down at his book again.

Hikaru was about to retort once more, when Kaoru gave him a warning look. Quietly, the pink-haired one sat back down, still glaring.

‘How disappointing’, the twins both thought. Though neither said it aloud.

They didn’t know why they had expected a different result. It happened time and time again; people could never tell the difference between them. Granted, no one had ever been as blunt about it as Adriel was, but that didn’t matter to them.

Haruhi and Tamaki were the only ones who seemed to truly understand the difference between the two. Adriel was just like the rest; an onlooker who would never venture into their world.

So why did his words hurt so much? And why did he literally insist on never playing their game?

Adriel was glad he decided to bring lunch today. He could still somehow hear the chaos from the cafeteria despite being outside of the school building.

As already established, the hosts were eating in the cafeteria. Adriel loved his friends, don’t get him wrong, but there was no way he was going near there. Especially when Hikaru and Kaoru were still in the middle of their fight.

So he was sitting on the edge of the fountain, the same place he ate lunch on his first day. Opening his bento with his right hand, his lips twitched upwards at what he packed today.

A kaya toast sandwich, with pork floss in between. It was a strange combination; the sweet, mellow coconutty taste of kaya contrasted with the salted pork floss harshly, with a tang that made his mouth water. All between two slices of fluffy white bread, of course.

He discovered it years ago, when he first started packing his own lunches. At the time, he was still only learning how to cook, and needed something that he could make quickly and conveniently. Thus, the pork floss-kaya toast sandwich was born.

He picked it up, preparing to take a bite when it was suddenly kicked out of his hands. Adriel watched as his lunch went flying into the cold water of the fountain, splashing a bit of water on him. He turned his head to the offender.

Three guys stood in front of him, none that he could recognize. They wore malicious smirks, laughing while nudging each other on the shoulder as if they just told the best joke in the world. 

“Can I help you?” Adriel asked blankly.

“Yeah, you sure can. You’re that stupid new guy, right?” The one in the middle asked, towering over Adriel’s still sitting figure. He was the one who kicked him. “How the hell were you even allowed here? This isn’t a place for street thugs”

“I was eating a sandwich?” Adriel tilted his head, confused as ever.

He already knew that his appearance caused him to look threatening, but Adriel didn’t think it was that big of a deal. No one ever actually harassed him for it.

Not until now, it seemed.

“Stop acting all innocent, asshole” The one on the left huffed. “We’ve got you cornered”

And indeed, they did. It wasn’t like Adriel could just turn around and swim away or something; the three guys blocked his every escape. Instinctively, he felt the need to move back at how close they were.

He froze as the one in the middle reached out, moving to push him into the cold fountain. In that moment, Adriel squeezed his eyes shut, preparing to feel the force on his chest.

Only for it to never come.

“What the hell are you guys doing?” A gruff voice made Adriel open his eyes.

To his left stood a tall guy with red hair. Adriel actually couldn’t see much else, given both his skewed vision on that side and also the three people surrounding him.

“Kasanoda? What, wanna join in?” The one on the right snickered, beckoning the newcomer to come closer. “This loser over here thinks he special”

‘Kasanoda’ only scowled deeper, walking forwards and grabbing the three guys by the back of their blazers. Adriel watched as his offenders were roughly thrown away, landing on the ground with yelps of shock.

“Get the hell out of here, and don’t come back!” Kasanoda yelled in fury, tone not betraying his threatening words. The three guys quickly got up to their feet and stammered out weak apologies before scampering away.

Which left only two. Adriel looked up at the red-haired male, grateful for the interference. “Thanks”

For some reason, Kasanoda flushed red in what struck Adriel as embarrassment, turning his head to face away. Coughing, the redhead shoved his hands into his pockets nervously. “Don’t mention it. Who were those guys anyways?”

“I don’t know. Never seen them”

“Bullies, huh? Sorry. That sounds like it sucks”

“Kind of. I never thought someone would attack me for it, though”

“Attack you for what?” Kasanoda turned back around, facing Adriel with raised brows. The tan male seemed relatively normal to him, other than his lack of uniform.

“Well...this, I guess'' Adriel motioned to his face, bringing attention to his various scars. Black piercings dotted the sides of his ears, four on each. Kasanoda eyed them up and down, taking in his appearance. “Haven’t you heard the rumors?”

“No, not really” Kasanoda responded. Adriel’s eyes widened slightly.

“You’re like, the first” he smiled slightly.

“Well, no one really talks to me anyways” Kasanoda sighed, scratching the back of his head. “They don’t wanna make friends with a delinquent like me”

“Delinquent? You don’t seem like the type” Adriel tilted his head. I mean, the scowl seemed less-than-friendly, but who was he to judge? Kasanoda glanced down at him, disbelief in his eyes.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors?”

“No, not really”

“Wow. You’re like, the first”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, silent. An amused smile made its way onto Adriel's face, spreading to Kasanoda soon after. The tan boy patted the empty space beside him on the bench.

“I’m Adriel Min. Nice to meet you, Kasanoda”

Kasanoda was a big softie, clear as day.

Granted, he swore pretty often and spoke a bit louder than others, but Adriel didn’t mind much. Kasanoda wasn’t that loud.

Though he was partially blind, it was so easy for Adriel to see the giant teddy-bear that was his new friend. Over the course of lunch, they managed to learn a bunch of new things together.

“The gardening club?”

“Don’t make fun of me, okay?! What’s with that stupid smile?!”

“Oh, nothing” Adriel chuckled a little, an amused gleam in his eyes. Kasanoda turned the colour of his hair, swiftly looking away for some unknown reason. 

Adriel also learned that Kasanoda got embarrassed really easily. Why else would he turn red so often?

Before they knew it, lunch was over. Adriel waved goodbye to Kasanoda, promising that they would talk again at some point. Perhaps over lunch another day?

The rest of class time was mostly mindless note-taking. Briefly, Adriel wondered how the twins were doing. Perhaps he had been too hard on them earlier.

Then again, what he said was the truth. He didn’t really know who was who.

“Umehito, are you okay?” Adriel asked, stopping in the middle of the hallway.

Normally, it would be club activities at about this time. He was on his way to the Black Magic basement when the tan teen stumbled across Umehito, who was frantically running around.

“Where is it?!”

“Where’s what?”

“Beelzenef, the curse doll! We can’t start our ritual without him. That was our last one, again” Umehito groaned, shaking his fists in disappointment. “We really need to keep better track of our things...”

“I can help you look” Adriel offered to the crestfallen occultist. Umehito tilted his head up, before a big smile spread across his lips.

“I knew I could count on you,” he grinned. “If we can’t find him by the time school ends, just go home. I’ll have another one by tomorrow”

Adriel nodded. They parted ways with a short farewell, off to go look for wherever Beelzenef could be.

He checked the mostly empty halls, searching through them with steady eyes. True, he didn’t have the best vision, but Beelzenef shouldn’t be too hard to spot, right?

As it turns out, it was a lot harder than Adriel originally thought. Ouran was a huge school, and some of the rooms were too loud for him to enter. As much as he wanted to find the doll, there was no way he was going to walk into a crowd without some sort of mental preparation.

As he walked through the halls, few students passed by, each with their own whispers. As always, he just ignored them. It wasn’t worth his time, anyways.

When he had searched through the majority of the school, Adriel finally realized where- or rather, who- the doll was with. How hadn’t it struck him earlier? With quick pace, he began to walk up the stairs to Music Room Three.

Arriving at the familiar hallway, Adriel could hear the sounds of pure chaos inside. Somehow, it was even louder today.

Normally he would try to keep his head down and ignore the noisiness inside. But when he opened the door, Adriel really couldn’t just brush past what he saw.

Hikaru and Kaoru were glaring at each other, a massive pile of random things behind them. Honey sat at the top of the mountain, somehow undisturbed by the twin’s arguing. There were no guests today; probably due to the tension between the pair, Adriel guessed.

“Aren’t you tired of your fighting yet? It’s driving me insane…” Tamaki looked between the twins with disappointment. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me! Everytime I look in the mirror, all I see is his face! The truth is, I hate your guts Kaoru!” Hikaru yelled at his brother, pointing accusingly at him.

“Same here, brother. In fact I hate you so much, I bought this!” Kaoru smirked, pulling out the Beelzenef doll from his pocket. Tamaki seemed to spazz out, running into a corner in fear.

“I knew it,” Adriel whispered to himself, watching the chaos happen. “Umehito was looking for that…”

“Riel-chan, they’re arguing and I don’t know what to do!” Honey cried, running over to where he was standing. “It’s the first time they’ve ever done this before”

“They’re not going to stop” Mori commented, making Adriel look over at the tall male. 

The first time they’ve ever had a fight? He doubted it. Every pair had to fight at some point.

Sighing quietly, he walked up to Kaoru and took the doll from him. “Umehito was looking for this. I need to take it back”

The blue-haired twin grabbed the doll back, snatching it from Adriel’s hand.

“Stay out of this!” Kaoru groaned in annoyance. “Why are you even here? No one likes you”

“Or at least, we really don’t” Hikaru added, giving Adriel a nasty scowl. He still hadn’t forgotten about this morning. 

They didn’t even need to act out their anger.

Adriel blankly stared back, not phased in the slightest. Somehow, it hurt the twins even more. 

“Kaoru!” Haruhi snapped, shocked at the twin’s rudeness. She quickly got up and ran over, punching the two on the heads. “Knock it off, you two! Both of you are at fault here, but what’s sad is that you managed to drag everyone else into your mess! Now apologize or else I’ll never let you come to my house!”

Suddenly, the mood of the room completely flipped.

The twins stopped, as if frozen in place, before slowly turning to the girl with sinister smirks. “So, if we make up, we can come to your place?”

Adriel picked up the doll and turned it over. “It says ‘blank’. Darn, we can’t use this one again”

Haruhi snapped out of her stupor, screaming in shock whilst the twins high-fived in the background. The other club members shared her feelings, watching as the pair started to caress each other weirdly.

“Even if it was a script, I’m sorry I ever said those things to you, Kaoru”

“I could never live with myself if I hurt you, Hikaru”

“You’ve gotta be kidding! You mean you were faking it this whole time?!” Honey pouted, throwing his arms around. 

“Yep, pretty much!” They answered in unison, laughing at the hosts’ dumbfounded expressions.

‘What a waste of my day’ Adriel huffed slightly, glancing at the clock. “Club time is over. Haruhi, wanna walk together?”

“I think I need a moment, sorry” Haruhi stammered out, still in shock over what just happened.

Adriel nodded, giving her and the two third-years a wave before turning around and leaving. As his figure disappeared behind the door, Hikaru sent a glare at where he once stood.

“Haruhi, how the hell are you friends with that guy?” he turned to her.

“He’s just like everyone else. Only, he’s even more annoying about it” Kaoru continued for his brother. 

“Hika-chan, Kao-chan, why do you hate Riel-chan?” Honey asked, walking up behind where the twins stood. The short blond tilted his head, though he looked more mature than he normally did.

“We don’t hate him”

“But why do you guys like him?”

“He’s nice” The twins turned around to see Mori towering over them, a slightly disappointed look on his face.

Hikaru crossed his arms and turned away, unable to look at Mori’s gaze any longer. “Sure doesn’t seem like it. He doesn’t think there are any differences between us”

“Really? He said that?” Tamaki wondered, turning to Kyoya as though his friend somehow knew the answer. Kyoya just shrugged back, unsure of what to say.

“Adriel never said that. Stop taking things out of proportion” Haruhi sighed. Calming down, she approached the twins with a disapproving glare. “And you know, he was kind of right”

Their eyes widened, straightening up where they stood. The twins stared at each other for a few seconds as Haruhi explained.

“Adriel was blunt about it I guess, but what he said was true. You can’t expect people to know the differences between you two when you never let anyone into your lives” she spoke. “It sucks that you guys look identical, but Adriel doesn’t know either of you well enough to tell who’s who. Don’t blame him for that”

It was quiet for quite some time. The twins didn’t move.

Haruhi’s voice remained in their heads, repeating over and over again.

For their entire lives, they wanted to be seen as two different people. The ‘Which one was Hikaru Game’ was a test to see who was worth their time. If people could tell them apart, for who they really were, they would open their doors to said player.

The game was not a fair one. The twins only let people who could tell them apart into their lives. Yet, how could anyone know their differences before then? It was a vicious cycle of hope, desperation, and inevitable disappointment.

Haruhi and Tamaki were the only ones who somehow could tell the difference between them. The real difference. As such, the twins opened their doors little by little, welcoming in the outside world. 

But their world was still so small. They were preventing it from growing.

And somehow, Adriel knew that.

“You guys should apologize to Riel-chan. You said mean things” Honey snapped them out of their thoughts.

They looked at each other before slowly nodding. Silently, the two twins left the club room, picking up the pace to catch up.

“Min!”

Adriel turned around, pulling out his earbuds. There stood Hikaru and Kaoru, slightly out of breath from running. 

“Can I help you?” he asked, slightly out of worry. Ouran was huge; they could’ve been running for a while. Especially since he had already made it to the front gates of the academy.

The twins let out soft pants before slowly standing up, composing themselves. Before Adriel could say a word, they began to spin around, changing positions over and over again. When they were finally finished, the pair turned to face Adriel.

“Which one is Hikaru”

“And which one is Kaoru?”

It was weird to see them without their usual smirks. For once, the twins wore serious expressions. They almost looked angry, but Adriel knew better than that.

They were nervous.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m not playing your game” He was about to turn away again, when Hikaru suddenly began to shout.

“Why?! You can physically see who’s who, so why won’t you play?” he yelled, shoulders raised in defense.

Hikaru wasn’t wrong about the first part. The twins still had dyed hair; pink for Hikaru, blue for Kaoru. Anyone with eyes could see their physical differences.

But Adriel wouldn’t just settle for that.

He held no malice towards the two, but he couldn’t tell the difference between them at all. 

Of course they looked different now, given the dyed hair. But that was only an external factor; Adriel still would have no idea who was who if he were blindfolded. Eventually, the dye would fade away and they would be back to square one.

The ‘Which one is Hikaru Game’ was a lot easier now, but that was only because of their changed appearance.

And appearance was never the real meaning behind the game, now was it?

“I told you. I don’t know the answer”

“Do you really think there are no differences between us?” Kaoru hesitantly asked, as though he were scared of the answer.

“I’m sure there are. I just don’t know them yet” he shrugged. The twins stared at him, absorbing the words with wide eyes.

“...”

“You’re weird, Min”

“No one’s ever refused to play before”

“Well, I don’t like losing” Adriel simply responded, as though he were talking about the weather.

“Still, even if you were to guess without looking, there’s a 50% chance you’ll win” Hikaru tilted his head. He wasn’t angry anymore, only confused. “Won’t you give it a chance?”

“If I just randomly guessed, it wouldn’t count. That’s not the meaning of the game” he spoke, looking between the two to see their reactions.

“What’s that supposed to mean? The game has no meaning” Kaoru narrowed his eyes, unable to look at Adriel’s knowing gaze anymore. “It’s just a stupid game we play for fun. Nothing else”

Adriel smiled. Kaoru was a terrible liar.

“Ask yourselves that again”

For a long time, they just stood in silence. It was not an uncomfortable one, neither was it particularly warm. It was just reflective; one of self discovery.

The twins turned to face each other, before staring back at Adriel.

“No one’s ever said that to us before” Hikaru muttered.

“Weird. I thought it was obvious” Adriel hummed slightly. He took in their stunned faces with a smile.

“Well, what should we do now?” Kaoru asked, to no one in particular.

“What do you want to do?” he retorted, though there was no malice in his voice.

“We want you to see our differences”

“You’re not like the rest”

“And how do you want me to do that, when I barely know you?” he asked. 

“...we don’t know” Kaoru answered, staring down at the ground.

Adriel would’ve smirked, had it not been such a somber moment. The answer was obvious to him.

“We can start today. Wanna see my house?”

The twins glanced up, eyes wide. 

“But, we didn’t even play the game” Hikaru raised a brow at Adriel’s offer. The latter had to hold back a chuckle.

“That doesn’t matter. Do you wanna hang out or not?” Adriel asked with a gentle smile.

Their entire lives, the twins only ever made the second move. They were used to keeping their doors closed to other’s begging. Only when someone could see their differences did they open their world.

For the first time, here they were with someone who was waiting for them. 

No, not for them to open their doors. Adriel didn’t want to chase them.

Adriel was waiting for the twins to exit, and venture out of their little, closed-off world. He was offering them a chance to break free from their borders, as opposed to just broadening them. 

He wanted to break the chains holding them back, even if they needed to take it slow.

And it all started in this moment.

“Well?” he asked again, a bit louder this time. Were they going to take the leap?

The twins looked to each other, before turning back to him. 

“Lead the way, Adriel”

“Can we sleep over, too?”

“Sounds cool to me” he chuckled, waving them over with his hand. 

“I’m making dinner tonight. Hope you like spicy food”


	5. Outsider

“There it is”

“Holy crap, your house is huge!” Kaoru gaped at the apartment complex. “I didn’t think commoners lived in houses like these!”

“It’s not all mine. I only live in one of these apartments” Adriel chuckled slightly at the blue-haired twin’s awe.

The twins simultaneously let out an ‘ohhhh’ at the seemingly obvious clarification. As they approached Adriel’s front door, Hikaru looked around at the building.

“That makes more sense. Then Haruhi lives here too?” he asked.

“Yeah, she lives right above me actually” Adriel shrugged, removing the key from the door. He shouldered it open, stepping into the familiar apartment.

“Wait, you know Haruhi’s gender?” Hikaru exclaimed, removing his shoes on the small mat beside the door.

“Found out on the first day”  
“Wow…”

‘Boss isn’t going to like that’ The twins sweatdropped, before looking up at the interior of Adriel’s home.

The first thing they noticed was that it was small. A small living room with a low table occupied the main space. A blocky T.V and sofa sat across from each other, with a coffee table in between. There was a kitchen to the right, and a small hallway presumably leading to the bedrooms and washroom. It wasn’t very crowded, but it had enough things to look cozy.

The second thing they noticed was that it was indescribably cold.

“Wow, it’s freezing” Kaoru absentmindedly commented. Adriel flinched slightly, knowing exactly why his apartment was so cold.

The heater had stopped working a while ago, no doubt as a result of not paying bills. Adriel didn’t mind it too much; he just wore his sweaters everywhere. Hopefully, as summer approached, it would become more bearable. Asher didn’t even seem to notice either; the man was barely ever home anyways.

He hadn’t realized how cold his apartment would be to other people. Sheepishly, Adriel pointed to a coat rack near the door.

“Sorry. You can wear one of our jackets”

The twins hesitantly nodded, wondering if perhaps this was just a commoner thing. They pulled their blazers off and took some jackets from the rack. 

Interestingly, a few of the coats were shorter on the left sleeve. Kaoru stifled a chuckle at the cute detail.

The third thing they noticed was that no one was home. All the lights were off, and it was completely silent.

“Where are your parents?” Hikaru asked, following Adriel’s footsteps. The tan boy was in the kitchen, grabbing a few snacks and brewing some tea.

“My dad has work until 10”

“Damn, that’s pretty late” Kaoru noted, taking a seat on the counter. Adriel just nodded, not bothering to deny it.

“He’s an assistant to an accounting company” 

“Assistant, huh? That explains it” Hikaru spoke. His words would’ve probably offended anyone else, but Adriel didn’t really care. 

He grabbed the snacks with his right arm, motioning to the tea tray with his head. “Can you take that?”

Kaoru nodded and grabbed the set with both hands. The trio made their way through the apartment to what was presumably Adriel’s room.

Hikaru decided to open the door and head inside, seeing as how the other two’s hands were full. He turned the lights on and looked around as Kaoru and Adriel put their things down.

‘Band posters, crystals, a bed, bookshelf...wait what’s tha-’ 

The pink-haired twin suddenly let out a high-pitched scream, jumping behind Kaoru in fear.

“Hikaru?”  
“What the hell is that?!”

Adriel glanced over to where Hikaru was pointing and chuckled, immediately knowing what freaked him out.

His past prosthetics were lined up on his shelf, both for arms and legs. A few were more realistic than others, particularly the one Hikaru was pointing at. It was an arm or similar skin colour, reaching outwards to anyone who was unfortunate enough to get scared by it.

Admittedly, it would’ve freaked out anyone. The twins probably didn’t expect to see literal limbs upon first entry.

“Those are my old ones that I grew out of. You can look if you want” Adriel motioned to the shelf with an amused smile.

Slowly, Hikaru released his iron-death hold on Kaoru. The pair looked at each other before walking closer, eying the prosthetics with calmed-down, curious gazes.

“These are kinda cool” Kaoru mentioned, eyes trailing up and down the shelf. “I didn’t know you grew out of prosthetics”

“They’re like old clothes. I had to switch a lot when I hit middle school” Adriel shrugged.

“But why are there legs here, too?” Hikaru asked, making the twins both turn back to face Adriel. 

Oh, right.

Adriel reached down and lifted his left pant leg the same way he did for Honey and Mori. The twins’ eyes widened at the sight of his prosthetic leg. Adriel’s amused smile grew larger as they stared. “Didn’t you notice my limp?”

“No...not really” Kaoru muttered, still seemingly in awe. The blue-haired twin looked up at Adriel, no doubt questions running through his head. Yet, he knew it wasn’t his place to ask.

Hikaru, however, wasn’t as reserved as his brother. “Do those hurt?”

“Hikaru!” Kaoru hissed.  
“What?”

“It’s fine, Kaoru” Adriel chuckled at the blue-haired twin’s reaction. “They don’t hurt. It’s a comfy fit”

Hikaru nodded, smirking. “That’s so sick. You’re like a superhero!”

“But it’s just a leg?”  
“It’s so epic though!”

“If you say so” Adriel hummed, giving Hikaru a puzzled glance. He didn’t see the big deal, but also didn’t care enough to correct the pink-haired male.

Taking a seat on his desk chair, he motioned for the twins to sit anywhere they liked. Hikaru sat on his bed, whilst Kaoru took the floor. They made a kind-of circle, with Kaoru right beside Hikaru’s legs. The tray of snacks laid on the bed.

Reaching over, Adriel grabbed a handful of ice gem biscuits, popping a few into his mouth. “Take some. Aren’t you hungry?”

“I’ve never seen these before” Kaoru picked one up and examined it closely.

“You live a sad life” Adriel blurted out, unable to control himself. He got a few wide-eyed stares from the twins. Perhaps it was an out-of-character thing to do, but he couldn’t imagine life without his favourite childhood snacks. “I had these a lot when I was younger. They’re harder to find here”

“Figures. These are pretty good though” Hikaru spoke between bites. “How’s the food in Singapore?”

“It would take me years to describe all the stuff I ate back there” Adriel chuckled. “How about I make something traditional for dinner? Then you might know”

“Sounds good” The twins responded in unison, before slowly turning to each other and laughing.

The trio had then begun to do their homework, much to all of their dismays. Still, it needed to be done at some point. Though it was only Friday, they had quite the load for the weekend.

Adriel was kind of trash at Math, which was good, since Kaoru wasn’t bad at it. Hikaru was amazing in chemistry, but had less-than-satisfying Language marks, which Adriel could help in. Kaoru was good at balancing most of his subjects, but stressed over Literature. 

Together, they managed to get a good deal of their work done. Discussing family, occupations, friendly gossip and past memories didn’t seem to slow them down, either. The room remained full of chatter, but it wasn’t loud enough to be distracting or uncomfortable.

Throughout their conversation, Adriel learned various things about the twins.

He learned that their parents were fashion designers, and they sometimes modeled for their company. Go figure; they weren’t in the host club for nothing. The twins seemed like people who cared about fashion a lot, anyways. Adriel thought it was pretty cool.

“Is modeling hard?” he asked the pair.

“Not really. We just do photo modeling, so there’s nothing nervous about it” Kaoru responded with a shrug. 

“You wouldn’t be a bad model yourself” Hikaru turned to Adriel, looking him up and down. “Slim, button nose, straight eyebrows… it’s just your height that breaks it”

Ah, the joys of being 5’1. Adriel sweatdropped at the words, though he didn’t deny it. Apart from his height, he also knew that his scars probably wouldn’t make it to the front of any magazine either. Yet, Adriel knew better than to care.

Their conversation switched from modeling to taste at some point. He also learned that Hikaru loved spicy food. It was a funny conversation, actually.

“Whatever you’re making for dinner, make it extra spicy!” Hikaru exclaimed with a smirk.

“You’re going to get stomach issues” Kaoru sweatdropped at his brother’s declaration.

“Don’t underestimate me, I got this!” the pink-haired twin laughed, confident in his answer.

“If you say so” Adriel simply responded. Though it didn’t show, he was inwardly smirking. Hikaru was going to feel the wrath of spicy Malaysian food tonight. Would he survive? Probably not.

They then discussed favourite movies. As it turned out, Kaoru had a soft spot for shitty action films.

“San Andreas is soooo bad” Hikaru groaned, throwing his hands over his face in exasperation.

“Shut up, it’s great!” Kaoru protested with a pouty glare. 

“What, is it your new favourite now? I thought you liked Conan the Destroyer more” Hikaru looked back at his twin with an annoyed gaze.

“That one’s good too! Adriel, what do you think?” Kaoru asked, turning to the tan boy. “Which one is better?”

“I’ve never seen either” Adriel simply responded, flipping a page in his history book.

“What?! We’re soooo watching a movie tonight. I’m picking!”  
“Okay”

“Dear god no…” Hikaru whispered to himself, crying tears of sorrow.

Kaoru seemed ecstatic at the thought of watching an action movie, which struck Adriel as kind of adorable, kind of hilarious. 

It was time for dinner soon. The twins had called their estate at some point, telling their driver to drop off a bag of necessities for the sleepover. It arrived quickly, courtesy of their estate. The bag was dropped off at the door before the twins quickly grabbed it and slammed the door shut.

Whilst Adriel was making dinner, the twins attempted to help in any way. Keyword: try.

“What’s that you’re adding to the pot?” Hikaru asked, standing behind Adriel to look over his shoulder, which wasn’t very hard.

“Chili paste. You wanted it spicy, right?” he answered, putting a few spoonfuls into the pan.

“Yeah! Come on, add some more. I can handle it!”  
“Are you sure?”  
“What, do you not believe me-”

Hikaru leaned a bit too far forward, getting a blast of the pan’s steam straight into his face. Hacking, he turned around and walked straight into the counter, banging his toe into it. He jumped back and yelped in pain, still coughing profoundly.

“Hikaru, are you okay?!” Kaoru cried, putting his hands on his brother’s face to examine if he was hurt.

Unfortunately for Hikaru, Kaoru was busy cutting some chillies a few moments prior. As he put his hands on the pink-haired twin’s face, he unintentionally made Hikaru’s pain much worse.

“Ah, it burns!”

“Oh no, what have I done!” Kaoru exclaimed with wide eyes, putting his hands on his face in shock. He then accidentally rubbed the heat into his own eyes, screaming in pain. The twins began flailing around, running in circles half-blind.

They inevitably crashed into each other, dramatically falling to the floor. Adriel just watched the chaos ensue, wishing he could take a video and send it to Haruhi.

‘Never let these two in the kitchen together’ he noted to himself, turning back around to stir the pot. He just left the twins on the ground, not bothering to help them up.

Somehow, dinner was ready soon after. The twins, after thoroughly rinsing their eyes with water, took a seat at the low table whilst Adriel put the bowls in front of them. 

“Laksa, a classic” he smiled, taking his own seat across from them. He had learned the recipe a long time ago, courtesy of his mother. Laksa noodles tasted like home; something Adriel could have every day of the week.

They dug into their hearty bowls, alive with conversations jumping from one topic to the other. Admittedly, it was a lot louder than dinner usually was in the Min household, seeing as how Adriel was by himself most other days. It was a nice change though, even for someone like him who didn’t talk much at all.

Funny enough, Hikaru could handle spicy food better than Kaoru, yet both of them needed cold water after a few minutes. Adriel wore an amused smile the entire time, inwardly smirking.

“Stop with that smile! I’m-hack- fine!” Hikaru coughed, taking a big sip of water. His red face said otherwise, both from spice and clear embarrassment.

“You sure?” Adriel chuckled, taking a bit of his own food. “I can refill your glass”

“Please, do” Kaoru choked out, head lying on the table. He didn’t even try.

Laughing slightly, he got up to grab a water pitcher, when they were interrupted by the sound of furious knocking at the door. The sound echoed throughout the small apartment, making Adriel stop in his tracks.

The trio looked around at each other, unsure of who it could be. Asher normally didn’t come home until much, much later. Perhaps the driver forgot something when he dropped off the twins’ bag?

Whoever was knocking seemed to be getting impatient. Not even a few seconds passed before the sound came again, louder this time.

“Are you going to get that?” Kaoru asked, motioning his head towards the door. Adriel nodded, walking to the front entrance and opening it without much thought.

“Hello-”

“Adriel! Oh, thank god you’re home!”

Adriel came face-to-face with a worried Ryoji, staring down at him with his stage makeup. The tan male was about to ask why, when his wide eyes met the body of his father. Asher was leaned over Ryoji’s shoulder, practically being dragged. His body was limp, yet he was still conscious enough to mutter out a few swears. 

Adriel recognized it immediately. The red face, drool, glazed eyes…

His father was drunk.

“Bring him in” Adriel instantly responded, grabbing Asher’s other arm and hoisting it over his shoulder. Together, they dragged the man inside, whispering words of concern to each other.   
They walked straight past the twins, who were staring with wide eyes. If Adriel, Ryoji or Asher even noticed their presence, they didn’t care.

“Where was he?”  
“I found him at the bar I work at. We talked a little, and I found out he was your dad”  
“How many drinks did he have?”  
“Too many. I couldn’t keep count. He got kicked out at the same time my shift ended”

“Adirel! Oh, you look great today” Asher slurred, letting out a loud laugh. He leaned further down, getting hurriedly dragged through the hall. 

“Dad, how many did you have?” Adriel whispered, though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer. No matter the number, it was far too many.

Asher didn’t even answer the question. Suddenly flipping moods, he let out a loud groan followed by hiccups. “The boss is such a dick! Sent me home without pay just because I spilled the coffee!”

‘So that’s why he was at the bar’ he thought, grimacing slightly. He walked faster, placing more strain on his legs.

Adriel quickly opened his father’s bedroom door, sitting him down on the bed. Ryoji let go once Asher was seated upright, worried if the man would suddenly vomit. The minute both of them let go, he fell back on the bed with a thump. Asher passed out the second his head hit the pillow, too disoriented to stay conscious for longer.

Adriel stepped back and stared at his father, eyes transfixed on the drool hanging from his mouth. It made his stomach recoil, yet he couldn’t bear to tear his eyes away. 

If he took his eyes off for just one second, would his father ever wake up again?

He was only snapped out of it when Ryoji began to speak again.

“I knew he wouldn’t make it home by himself, so I brought him here” The man shifted in his spot, staring between Adriel and his father in slight shock. Ryoji wouldn’t have believed the two were related had he not been told. They looked similar, yet they seemed like polar opposites.

Adriel was just so...mature. Mature in a way no teenager should ever have to be. One look and Ryoji instantly knew why he and Haruhi got along so well.

Adriel nodded, avoiding Ryoji’s gaze. “Thank you. That was kind”

It was quiet, the only sound coming from Asher’s soft breathing. Adriel glanced around at the unlit room, not even bothering to turn on the light. They continued to stand in the darkness, unmoving.

It felt like a century later when Ryoji finally sighed. Adriel immediately squeezed his eyes shut, knowing what was about to come.

“Does your dad do this often?”

That question. Adriel hated hearing it.

Countless doctors and nurses have asked him the same in the past. Their worried faces were still engrained deep within Adriel’s memory. Sometimes, he laid awake at night thinking about them.

He hated answering the question. There was no easy way to put it.

Adriel hesitantly nodded, not meeting Ryoji’s gaze. He couldn’t bear to stare at the man’s disappointed eyes.

“He tries not to, but…” he trailed off. It wasn’t that he didn’t know the answer; no, he knew exactly what he meant.

But he couldn’t say it aloud.

Ryoji waited a few seconds, staring down at Adriel’s shifting eyes before nodding. “I understand”

No other words needed to be said. Ryoji gave Adriel a wry smile before ruffling his hair, making the tan male look up.

“I’m always a floor above you if you need me. Feel free to stop by whenever, kid” he spoke, before grabbing his purse again. Adriel led Ranka back through the small apartment, to the front door.

With a wave and a ‘thank you’, Adriel shut the door behind him, letting out a heavy sigh the moment it closed. He leaned against the door, forehead pressed against the cold surface in a deep silence.

He was exhausted.

“Was that drunk guy your dad?” 

Adriel turned around slowly, meeting the twin’s concerned gazes. He had almost forgotten that they were there.

This was the worst possible timing. He would rather crawl into a hole and die than face the Hitachiins after all that. They stared back at him with wide eyes, no doubt still shocked about what just happened.

Their expressions made him want to disappear. Adriel nodded slowly, staring at the ground.

The night had been going so well up until now. A happy, fun hangout that got interrupted in the most uncomfortable way. Partially, Adriel blamed himself for not seeing this coming; whenever something good happens for too long, bad things always follow.

“My dad is…” he trailed off, unable to meet the twin’s stares.

‘An alcoholic’, but he didn’t say it aloud. Nevertheless, both Hikaru and Kaoru instantly understood. They nodded, confirming their beliefs.

Adriel could only wish he knew what they were thinking.

There was nothing remotely fun about his father getting drunk. It wasn’t a “cute” or “funny” plight that people always romanticized. Having to wake up each day, worrying over whether or not his father would do the same was something Adriel wished he didn’t have to do. Yet, he knew that Asher tried just as hard to stop.

The man had been sent home without pay again. Adriel grimaced slightly at the fact; his job at the library wasn’t bad, but it definitely couldn’t shoulder the cost of living on it’s own. Perhaps he should start asking for more hours?

“Hey, are you okay?” a voice broke him out of his thoughts.

Kaoru stared up at him, lips tight in a line. “We can watch that movie now, if you want” 

Hikaru nodded at his brother’s words. “Yeah, I can stream it on my laptop”

Wordlessly, Adriel nodded. The trio slowly walked back to his bedroom, leaving their half-finished bowls on the table. 

It was quiet for the most part. Hikaru was busy tampering with his laptop to get the streaming website going, whilst Kaoru was looking over the movies to choose from. They were sitting side-by-side on the bed, with Hikaru in the middle.

It was as though a few minutes ago didn’t even happen. Adriel was thankful for that. 

“We are not watching Robo-cop!” Hikaru hissed at his brother, much to the blue-haired twin’s dismay.

“Oh come on!”  
“There are so many better movies, let’s find another one”  
“Fine, fine”

Adriel wasn’t really present during the choice-making conversation, seeing as how he didn’t watch action movies often. They had finally decided on the movie “Baby Driver” after a few minutes of bickering. 

Without much other commentary, they turned the lights off and let the movie begin. A blanket sat across all three of their laps, cushioning the laptop on Hikaru’s legs. The other two leaned in slightly to see the screen.

A few minutes into the movie and Adriel had already run into a problem. “I can’t hear what they’re saying”

“But subtitles are on” Hikaru looked to his right at Adriel, who was squinting at the screen.

Adriel pointed at his left eye with a blank expression. “I’m a little blind in this one. The subtitles are too small”

Combine that with the dimly-lit room, and Adriel had no idea what was going on in the story so far. Hikaru and Kaoru shared a look of surprise, before the former turned the volume up on his laptop. Now, the dialogue could be heard with no problem. Adriel gave a small smile before resuming watching the movie.

It was a good film. As he watched, Adriel’s mind began to clear from the chaos that had happened earlier. His shoulders loosed, clenched hands slowly unfurling. Hikaru and Kaoru were noticeably enjoying themselves too, if their dropped jaws and awed stares said anything.

“Hold on, I’m gonna go grab some snacks” Hikaru paused, awkwardly shifting the laptop off to get up. He turned back to Adriel and Kaoru with a smirk. “You can keep watching, just fill me in when I get back”

Without much other commentary, he left the room. Already way-too-entranced in the plotline, Kaoru and Adriel shuffled closer and resumed the movie, leaning inwards to hear better.

It was a wonder how Adriel didn’t see this coming. Both of them were leaning so close to the laptop, on the highest volume setting possible. The characters on the screen were talking so quietly, they couldn’t help but need to move closer.

Just like in action-movie taste, the audio suddenly shot up and rang, corresponding to the random explosion on screen. The quick change from barely-audible to ear-ringing made Adriel's breath hitch in his throat.

Loud. It was too loud.

The explosions on screen didn’t stop. One after the other, they continued to ring in sequence. Adriel stared wide-eyed in horror as they leapt from the screen into his room, filling it with smoke and flames and screams.

They were so goddamn loud.

Screaming, all around him. Surrounding his every being, ringing in his ears. The sounds of rushing footsteps, crying babies, shuffling paper bags and coats as the crowds dispersed. Adriel’s hand was being pulled by someone, lurching him forward with haste that had him almost falling.

He was crying too. What 8-year old wouldn’t be?

It was so loud, yet at the same time Adriel couldn’t hear a thing. He saw mouths moving, open wide screaming, yet it sounded like nothing. The hand that was pulling him through the crowds grabbed even tighter.

From somewhere behind him, another explosion ran out followed by the sounds of gunshots. Angry voices filled his ears, in a language that he couldn’t even recognize. Where was he?

“Adriel?”

Who was Adriel? Who was talking? Was it the one pulling his hand?

“Adriel”

The grip on his left hand was so tight, he couldn’t feel it anymore. 

“Adriel!”

Another hand grabbed his shoulder, and Adriel immediately jerked it off with a yelp. “Don’t touch me!”

“It’s me, Kaoru” the voice said, tone softening.

Adriel couldn’t form the words to answer. His mouth was as dry as sawdust. His clothes felt too hot.

“Are you okay?” Kaoru asked, coming into his view once again. Slowly, his breathing began to calm down. He wasn’t even sure when it had sped up.

Adriel looked around as his little bedroom came back into view. His wooden desk, shelf, healing crystals and window all came back. Glancing down, he noticed his right fist clenching the blankets tightly, knuckles turning pale.

When did he do that? His grip loosened. Slowly, he turned back to face Kaoru’s droopy eyes.

No words were spoken between them. It was hard to put into sentences what just happened. Adriel wasn’t even sure himself.

“Sorry… I don’t like loud noises” he finally broke the suffocating silence. The words felt like claws being dragged out of his throat, and Adriel grimaced slightly at how weak they sounded. He couldn’t say any more after that.

Kaoru nodded slowly, absorbing Adriel’s discomfort. ‘He’s calming down now. Good’

“Is that why you avoid crowds?”  
“Yeah. They’re too much for me”

“I get that. Sometimes loud noises annoy me too” Kaoru chuckled, turning the laptop off. “When it gets too overwhelming, I need to leave the room”

He wanted to correct Kaoru. It wasn’t annoyance, it was fear. Yet, none of those words left his mouth. Instead, Adriel focused more on the second part of his speech.

“Really?” Adriel tilted his head, shoulder drooping from their stiff stance.

“Yeah. Hikaru was always better at handling stuff like that” Kaoru gave a gentle smile. His voice was soft, a stark contrast from his normal mischievous self. “Out of the two of us, Hikaru’s always been more outspoken. He never shies back from anything, really”

“He seems like the type” Adriel chuckled.

“Yeah, that’s kind of his thing” Kaoru laughed. “Granted, it’s gotten the both of us into a lot of trouble in the past. Although it wasn’t just him; I was kind of a disaster too”

“You both still are” Adriel deadpanned. Normally he wouldn’t be so blunt, yet the events from earlier had sucked all of the self-restraint out of him. Exhaustion settled into his frame.

Kaoru only gave a laugh at his words. “We both still are”

They sat in the darkness, no sounds present in the room. The creak of the door diverted their attention back to Hikaru, who came back empty handed.

“I wasn’t actually that hungry” the pink-haired twin shrugged upon entry. He glanced over at the shut laptop, quirking an eyebrow. “Hey, why’d you turn it off?”

“The movie ended while you were gone. Everyone died and there was no happy ending” Kaoru quickly answered, staring straight into his twin’s eyes. 

“What, seriously?!”  
“Yeah, it was a really bad movie”

Adriel’s eyes widened at Kaoru’s lie. Since when was he so good at acting?

No matter, he was glad Kaoru came up with an explanation. Looking at the clock, Adriel let out a yawn at the time. “It’s late. We should sleep soon”

“I’m gonna go change, then. Dibs on the bathroom!” Kaoru smirked, quickly exiting the room and running down the hall. That left only Hikaru and Adriel still in the bedroom.

“Can you help me get the futon?” Adriel asked, stretching as he stood up. Hikaru nodded, and they set out to go grab any other necessary items.

It was easy to set up the room again. All they did was roll out the mat and throw some more blankets and pillows on it. Adriel was going to take the twin-sized bed, whilst the twins slept on the futon.

Hikaru grinned. “I’ve never slept on one of these before! Is it fun?”

“It’s okay,” Adriel deadpanned, staring at the thin mat on the ground. Last time he slept on one, he woke up with back cramps. He decided not to mention that, though. “Are you and Kaoru okay with sharing?”

“Yeah, we sleep together at home too” Hikaru shrugged, flopping down onto the futon on his back. The pink-haired twin pouted, rolling back into a sitting position. “He always steals the blankets, though!”

“Sounds tough” Adriel grimaced.

“Tell me about it. Then again, I always get him back,” Hikaru snickered. “By kicking him in my sleep”

“Seems in-character”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Oh, nothing” Adriel chuckled quietly. “I toss and turn a lot too. That’s why I never share beds”

“Oh! Yikessss…” Hikaru grimaced, glancing at Adriel’s prosthetics. The gleaming metal and plaster stared right back at him. “I can see why. It must hurt like an ass to get smacked by one of those”

Adriel deadpanned. “I don’t sleep with them on”

“Wait, you don’t?”  
“I would probably break something if I did”  
“I didn’t know you could take them off”

“I need to give my stump air sometimes” Adriel sweatdropped, opening his drawer to grab his pajamas. They were simple enough; just a set of loose shorts and an old short-sleeved shirt. “How long does Kaoru normally take in the bathroom?”

“Wayyy too long” Hikaru groaned, flopping onto his back again. “He has this whole skin routine and everything. Seriously a pain when you share a bathroom with him”

“Don’t you have one too? Since you’re a model”

“Not really. It’s a lot quicker than his, at least” Hikaru smirked. “Kaoru always loved taking care of his appearance. It makes him more confident, I guess”

“That’s fair” Adriel shrugged. If he could, he would do the same.

“Yeah, it’s been like that since we were little. Kaoru’s more shy than me, so looking good makes him feel more bold” Hikaru laughed, a carefree smile on his face. “He’s got nothing to worry about, though. After all, he’s my twin!”

‘Wow…” Adriel drew out. He sweatdropped, understanding what Haruhi meant the day prior. ‘Kaoru was right about Hikaru being outspoken’

After all their nightly routines were over, and Adriel got his prosthetics off(much to the twin’s awe), they were out like lights. Although Adriel felt a bit bad about taking the bed, he knew this was probably a better option than anything else. If he didn’t have his space, his stumps could swell tomorrow.

The next morning was relatively peaceful as well. Breakfast was different for the twins; they had never had kaya toast before, much to Adriel’s disapproval. As they ate, the tan male mentioned that he needed to go to work soon.

He had a long shift at the library today, and couldn’t be late. Begrudgingly, the twins packed up after breakfast, moving as slowly as possible. 

It was their first sleepover with someone else. Sadly, it had come to an end sooner than they wished. Yet, Adriel promised the duo to hang out more in the future. After exchanging numbers, they were about to leave when Hikaru and Kaoru turned back to him.

“Oh, by the way”  
“Sorry for stalking you”

Adriel blinked, a bit surprised. He smiled in response, waving his hand in a carefree manner. “It’s chill”

No other words needed to be said. Kaoru offered a smile, whilst Hikaru smirked. Together, they bid their adieus and left. Adriel watched the car disappear from sight whilst smiling, before closing the door.

He checked his father’s room again one final time, leaving him some heavy-duty painkillers. With a gentle sigh, Adriel grabbed his book bag and opened the front door, off to work.

He should ask for more hours from now on; seemed like he needed them.

/////////

“Hey, Adriel!”

The tan male turned his head to face the pair running up behind him. He stopped just outside the front gates of Ouran, waiting for them to catch up.

It was the Monday after their sleepover. As expected, the Hitachiins still had their dyed hair as always. Locks of pink and blue stopped just a few feet away as Hikaru and Kaoru both caught their breaths.

“Need a moment?” Adriel asked, smiling at them in amusement. 

“Ah...yeah just hold on…” the pink-haired twin gasped, putting his hands on his knees. “I swear, Kaoru’s way better at running than me”

“Damn straight I am” the blue haired twin smirked, crossing his arms. He was in much better shape than his nearly-identical counterpart. “Hikaru, you’ve gotta start running more if you wanna match my pace!”

The pinkette only groaned, standing back up again. “Whatever, Kaoru”

The twins turned to Adriel and grinned mischievously, locking their arms together. “How was your weekend?”

“Uneventful” Adriel shrugged, opening an eye to glance between the two. “You?”

“Same”  
“We were pretty bored”

“I can tell” Adriel chuckled, turning around to face forward again. As he walked away, back turned, he called out to the twins.

“You shouldn’t switch hair colours so frequently. You’ll go bald”

Their eyes widened at Adriel’s retreating form. Hikaru ran a hand through his newly-dyed blue hair, glancing at his pink-haired twin. Kaoru was doing the same.

“Hikaru?”  
“Yeah?”

Kaoru stared at Adriel’s back, unmoving. “Do you know what just happened?”

Hikaru nodded, holding his twin’s hand. “Yeah…”

‘For the first time, someone’s opened our doors. And he got us to cross over and leave our little world’


	6. Meet the Lady Manager! And the Vice President...

Singapore, 1979

Asher was the bookworm of the group.

Throughout his first year of high school, he was always nose-deep in a textbook. Whether he was studying Math, Science or anything whatsoever, it clearly took up the majority of his time.

Within his group of friends, he was always one of the more reserved. It was not a matter of being soft spoken, but rather, he just didn’t feel the need to talk about things he deemed meaningless. Perhaps a bit off-putting and rude to others, but none of his friends really cared. As such, Asher didn’t change much throughout the year.

He had a variety of hobbies, most of which were academically-based. Apart from studying, he also liked reading and worked as a Math tutor to his peers. Although very rarely, he did sometimes enjoy a night at karaoke with his friends.

Today was one of those nights. Now, Asher never really sung, rather he watched the others make fools of themselves with a glass of soda. The music in the room was blasting at full volume, loud enough to shake the glass on his table. He could literally feel the vibration in the air, beating like a steady drum.

It was rowdy tonight. Other tables sported tons of fellow students from different schools, no doubt wanting to unwind after a rough Friday. Though the room was dimly lit, most of the light came from the flashing stage lamps where the microphones were. Another group of teens were currently on stage, screaming out the lyrics of the song getting played.

“God, they suck…” he mumbled, taking a sip from his glass. His friend sitting to the left elbowed Asher with a laugh, having to practically yell to be heard. 

“Oh come on! It’s not like you could do any better”   
“Exactly. That’s why I don’t”  
“You’re gonna grow wrinkles at the age of 20 if you keep frowning. Look, they’re switching singers now”

Asher sighed before glancing over at the stage again. As his friend noted, someone new was at the microphone today.

A girl with reddish-brown hair was up now. Her tan skin was not uncommon in the country; this was Singapore, after all. The white dress shirt and black tie that she wore was the same as his own, no doubt being from the same school. But what caught Asher’s attention were the black earrings hanging from her ears. Four on each, shining in the flashy lighting of the club.

She cleared her throat, a smirk on her plump lips. With a sly smile, the music began to play.

“Birds flying high...you know how I feel  
Sun in the sky… you know how I feel”

Several ‘ohhhs’ came from within the club, no doubt by the sound of her smooth voice. It was like silk.

No, not like silk actually. That made it sound too pretentious. Asher would describe her voice like honey. His eyes widened.

“Breeze drifting on by...you know how I feel  
It's a new dawn  
It's a new day  
It's a new life  
For me...”

She walked forward across the thrust of the stage, eyes closed in content. She stopped just at the front, before opening an eye, a smirk playing on her lips.

Asher’s breath hitched in his throat. She was looking directly at him.

“And I’m feeling good”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adriel grimaced as he brushed his hair, arm shaking. God, how was he not bald yet with the force he was using?

He needed to make pace, though. It just so happened to be that Adriel had woken up fifteen minutes later today. He wouldn’t have enough time to make lunch even if he rushed. If he wanted to walk with Haruhi today, he needed to move faster.

Hastily, he put the brush down and grabbed a face towel. He placed it under the tap and turned the knob, waiting for water to pour out.

Only for it not to. 

Impatiently, he grabbed the knob and twisted it around some more. Yet, not a single drop emerged from the tap. Sighing, he threw the towel to the side and left the washroom. He didn’t have time for this.

As he quickly grabbed his school bag, dread began to grow in Adriel’s stomach. Though he brushed it off earlier, he couldn’t help but worry over the apartment’s water system. Did he forget to pay the bills again? That wasn’t good news; there wasn’t enough money for him to.

Work had been hard for Asher for the past few days. With every night, the man came home with less and less money. He tried to play it off cooly, yet Asher’s attitude only came off as apathetic. It was almost as though he didn’t even care.

Adriel opened the front door, ready to go up to Haruhi’s apartment. He hoped the girl hadn’t left without him already.

“Adriel!”

He turned his head back in surprise, looking over at the figure of his father.

Asher stood there with a bento box, hand outstretched. He smiled. “Your lunch”

For a moment, Adriel just stood there, shocked. Normally, his father would wake up in the afternoon after a long shift at work. Yet he was up early today?

Nice. It was...nice

The box was shoved into Adriel’s hands as his father shooed him out the front door. Asher chuckled, switching to speaking with his native language. “Hurry, or you’ll be late”

With a hesitant nod, Adriel gave his father a small smile. “Thanks, dad”

///////////

Kyoya Ootori wouldn’t consider himself a rude person. He was everything he needed to be; charming, polite and most of all useful. People often praised him for the civil persona he took around others. “What a gentleman!” they would laugh.

That was good enough for Kyoya. He had a great reputation; what more could he possibly ask for? Whether he truly cared about being charismatic didn’t matter so long as in the end, he got his way. Which he did, most of the time.

Though that didn’t mean living up to the expectations was easy. Today was one of those days. Homeroom hadn’t even started yet when he was already interrupted.

“Kyoya-kun!” Renge stopped him in the hallway, a deep red blush on her cheeks. She beamed at him, stars in her wide eyes. “You know, I’ve been having some trouble in English recently” 

“Oh?” Kyoya offered a closed-eye smile back, cheeks stretching in a way that he had grown used to. “Perhaps paying attention in class may help. I suggest you do so”

If his words sounded passive aggressive, Renge didn’t notice nor did she feel off-put. Which sucked for Kyoya, because that was exactly what he was trying to do: politely remove himself from the conversation.

“Oh, I’ve tried, but I’m still struggling” Renge dramatically sighed, looking off to the distance in a ‘woe-is-me’ gaze. She peeked an eye back at Kyoya to see his reaction, a sly smile on her lips. “I think I might need a tutor, Kyoya”

“That’s unfortunate” Kyoya began to walk away, nose deep in his notebook. Gaping, Renge ran to catch up.

“Yeah, so I need a tutor-”  
“As you said already”  
“And they need to be smart-”

“I wish you the best of luck in finding one” Kyoya smiled, adjusting his glasses. He didn’t like where this conversation was going.

“And sooo…” Renge paused, giving him a hopeful grin.

Kyoya stopped and turned back to her, lips in a tight line. ‘Don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it-’

“I was wondering if you could help me? Please?” she beamed, hands clasped together in content.

Kyoya internally groaned. He walked straight into this one. Eyebrow twitching, he gave her a polite smile. “Are there any other people who could help you?”

“Well yes, but aren’t you the best-of-the-best? I want your help!” she pleaded. Her loud exclamation drew the eyes of countless people around them in the hall. Various students began to whisper to another behind cupped hands, staring at the pair in anticipation. If he could, Kyoya would’ve sworn aloud.

Now that Renge asked him, it would look bad to decline. Too bad; he didn’t leave when he had the chance. If he were to turn down the offer, no doubt it would only lead to more problems. Renge’s father was a powerful business partner to the Ootori’s, after all.

“I’ll see what I can do” he hesitantly spoke. The words only left a pit of dread building in his stomach.

“Perfect! Meet me at the town library at 8 today!” Renge beamed, speaking a bit too quickly. Before Kyoya could even say another word, she ran away, giggling to herself in excitement. 

He watched her figure disappear behind a corner, silently cringing. It wasn’t that he hated Renge; Kyoya just found her to be a handful. Especially since she hadn’t gotten over her infatuation with him. Briefly, he wondered if he could still back out.

‘No’

Ootori’s don’t back out from anything. They never go back on their word, ever. They were exceptional at all things under the sun. A “perfect” model to their peers.

‘Just think about all the benefits’ Kyoya repeated to himself all day. As the classes passed by much too quickly, he focused on what could be gained, like he always did.

‘Just smile and nod’ he thought, typing on his computer in the host club. Today was like any other day. Nothing out of normal, or rather, whatever normal meant anymore. Club activities passed by like a breeze, and before he knew it, he was on the way home.

‘Just stay quiet and polite’ he kept to himself, cutting the food on his plate. The quiet sounds of cutlery scraping against porcelain echoed around the dinner table. His father, at the head, was in a bad mood once again. No one said a single word, too busy in their own thoughts. Thoughts that they would never share to one another.

“Just get this over with” Kyoya muttered to himself, walking down the street to the library. Why did Renge choose to come here instead of a more private location? She probably wanted it to be more ‘date-like’, assumably.

The library was a large building, coloured in ivory white with fine-polished wooden pillars. Windows took up almost all of the wall-room, allowing him to see the collection of bookshelves inside. From what he could view, there was an open area of tables and couches inside, along with a fireplace and mat. He could presume it was for school-children or book groups.

Entering through the glass sliding doors, he walked past the front counter with a sigh. He didn’t even glance up from the ground, tightening his grip on his bag.

“Kyoya?”

Blinking, he looked around for a moment, wondering if he just imagined the voice. The bespectacled male glanced over at the front counter, eyes widening slightly.

“I didn’t expect to find you here, Min”

Adriel stared back at him, sitting with a barcode scanner in his hand. “Me neither”

Adriel wasn’t lying when he said that; didn’t rich people have their own libraries or something? Then again, it could also be the slight shock factor of seeing a fellow student outside of school, especially when that student was as bookish as Kyoya.

Kyoya seemed to read his mind, clearing his throat with a polite smile. “I normally don’t come to places like these, but I’m here to help someone study today. And I’m assuming you work here?”

Adriel nodded, a blank expression on his face as always. 

Inwardly, Kyoya smirked. The blank space he had in his notebook next to Adriel’s name suddenly just got smaller; He wasn’t called the shadow king for nothing. Perhaps this “study date” really did provide some benefits.

“You know, students at Ouran aren’t allowed to have jobs” Kyoya taunted with a sly smile.

“Oh” Adriel blankly responded.

He wasn’t really that nervous, all things considered. If Kyoya was going to go tattle on him to Suoh-san, the bespectacled teen would’ve done so already without mentioning it. Clearly, Kyoya just wanted to toy with him.

Which was kind of annoying, but as previously mentioned, Adriel didn’t care. “What do you want?”

Blinking slowly, Kyoya paused before clearing his throat. His surprised falter went unnoticed. “Oh, nothing. Just wanted to mention it to you”

“Okay. Anything else you need?”  
“...Aren’t you at all bothered?”  
“No”

It was silent for a few seconds as they stared at each other. Raising an eyebrow, Adriel was starting to grow tired. “Do you need something?”

Kyoya paused, contemplating a few options in his head. An idea came to mind, one that made him smirk. “When does your shift end?”

“Five minutes?” Adriel tilted his head. Was Kyoya trying to ask him out?

“Perfect. You can tutor one of my peers in Literature” Kyoya responded, walking away. “I’ll see you in the seating area”

Before another word could be said, the megane was gone. Adriel sighed, fidgeting with his barcode scanner. 

Honestly, he wasn’t even surprised that Kyoya would try to blackmail him. From what Haruhi told him, the second-year was ruthless when it came to business. Granted, this wasn’t anything serious. Although, Adriel did want to keep his job.

Still, he didn’t mind tutoring someone. English was his specialty, and it was something he could actually explain to others relatively well. Though he wasn’t much of a talker, Adriel could ramble about writing for hours on end unprompted. Whoever he was helping tutor was going to get the lecture of their lives.

There was only one thing that kind of concerned him, though. The cream jacket he was wearing was short on the left sleeve, out of comfort and convenience. Similarly, his black trousers were cut off at the thigh on his left leg. After wearing his usual grey sweater all day at school, Adriel always changed before going to work.

Therefore, the person he was tutoring was going to see the prosthetics. Which, again, Adriel didn’t really care about. He just hoped no one would scream on him, again.

Within no time, the clock chimed him out of his trance. Adriel stood up and stretched, letting out a quiet yawn. Sitting down for too long didn’t feel that great. Grabbing his book bag, the tan male headed over to the seating area, nodding at the next worker taking his place behind the counter.

When he arrived, Kyoya and a somewhat-familiar looking girl were chatting quietly by a table. Adriel could’ve sworn he saw her before. Dismissing the thought, he walked up behind them, grabbing Kyoya’s attention. The bespectacled teen’s eyes widened at the sight of Adriel’s prosthetics, before he quickly recovered.

“Ah, Renge, I would like you to meet Adriel” Kyoya interrupted, glancing over at the tan male. “He’s in your Literature class”

“Hi” Adriel nodded.

“...Hi?” Renge tilted her head, looking back at Kyoya. She quirked an eyebrow in confusion, leaning in and whispering. “What’s he doing here?”

‘Why are rich people so bad at whispering?’ Adriel sweatdropped, easily hearing her words. 

Kyoya adjusted his glasses, smiling in a way that didn’t reach his eyes. “Adriel is going to tutor you in English, isn’t that right?”

“Yeah” he shrugged.

Renge’s eyes widened, sitting up in refusal. “What? But you said you would help me!”

“And I am” Kyoya gave her a closed-eye smile. He stood up and grabbed his things, scooting the chair behind him. “Adriel is top in his grade for Literature. In fact, that’s what his scholarship is for. I found the best-of-the-best for you, Renge”

She bit the inside of her lip, trying to keep her thoughts from spewing out of her mouth. As much as she wanted to disapprove, Adriel was standing right there. Call her an airhead, but Renge wasn’t going to insult him to his face.

‘Especially when he’s staring at me like that’ she grimaced, sweat drops rolling down her neck. ‘He looks like he’s gonna beat me up! Especially with those scars, and that glare’

Adriel could already tell what was going through Renge’s head. As much as she tried to hide it, it was obvious; the grimace, the protest, the uncomfortable side-eyeing…

She felt threatened. Then again, she wasn’t the first. 

Not bothering to stay, Kyoya turned around and began to walk away, giving them the slight wave of hand. “Enjoy yourselves”

With that, he was already out of sight, leaving the two alone together. Adriel awkwardly stood in place for a few seconds before taking a seat where Kyoya once was. He put his book bag on the floor, glancing over at Renge’s the book on the table.

“What exactly do you need help with?” he asked quietly, pulling out a pencil case.

Renge nervously fidgeted in place, trying her best not to look him in the eye. “The-the newest assignment. Y-you know, where you need to write a-a diary entry of a character you-you choose”

“Yeah. What did you choose?”  
“Of Curses and K-Kisses. I’m writing for the pro-protagonist”

“I know that book. It’s a romance story, isn’t it?” Adriel hummed, tapping his pencil against the table idley. “It’s been a while, though. What’s it about?”

Shoulder still stiff, Renge hesitantly looked at Adriel as she began talking. “Well, the-the female heroine is on a quest to make a dark and b-broody boy fall in love with her, then break his heart. Except the boy is just too charming, and they end up actually falling in love!”

As she spoke, her eyes slowly began to widen in glee, a smile inching onto her lips. Her stuttering ceased as she recalled the contents of the book with a dreamy sigh. Adriel nodded at the summary, taking note of what Renge said.

“You seem to like this book a lot”  
“Well of course! It’s such a romantic story; a forbidden love between the broken lone-wolf and a mature princess. Who wouldn’t fall in love?”

Renge sighed happily, head placed on her palms. It was almost like she was in a trance, entering her special dream-world filled with cute boys and romance. Adriel smiled slightly at her expression.

“Then, what are you having trouble with?” he asked, tilting his head. Renge was broken out of her trance and glanced over at him with a bashful smile.

“I can’t connect with the heroine at all. She’s supposed to be the responsible princess who can only marry out of business” she scratched her cheek, looking off to the side with an embarrassed hue on her cheeks. “But I’ve never had to deal with stuff like that! I can’t write for her at all!”

“That’s fair. It’s hard to write for characters you don’t relate to” Adriel responded, glancing at the book on the table again. The best way to understand a character’s emotions was to make connections to reality; something he learned early on in writing. “Let’s look through the book again and try to find something you can relate to her with”

Renge nodded, bringing the book closer to sit between them. Adriel scooted his chair closer to the left, to get a better look.

Renge was about to start reading when she finally caught a look at Adriel’s body. More specifically, his prosthetics. Her eyes popped out at the sight, words leaving her mouth before she could even try to stop them.

“Fake limbs?!?!” she shrieked in shock, jumping back in her seat. 

Her loud exclamation drew the eyes of various other people in the library, along with a few ‘shush’s. Adriel sweatdropped as he mentally apologized to the other people in the library.

“They’re called prosthetics” he awkwardly whispered, kind of wanting to crawl into a hole with the looks he got.

Renge’s fearful shaking slowed down slightly as she calmed. Her breathing came out more even as she scooted back towards Adriel. She sent a now-curious look at them, not bothering to hide her amazement.

“Woah…” she gaped, eyes trailing the limbs as she examined him. 

Her staring was a bit uncomfortable given the situation, but at least she wasn’t yelling anymore. Adriel let out a sigh of relief as Renge calmed down.

“You’re just like Edward Elric!” Renge squealed, though quieter this time. “It’s amazing. You would make the perfect anime protagonist!”

Adriel had no idea what she was talking about, but nodded anyways. 

Now that she had come down from her high, it was time to get studying. Scooting closer, he scanned the page on the book that was open. Renge followed suit.

“See, there’s nothing I relate to her with!” She sighed, skimming over the page. “The heroine’s too uptight and formal. I don’t get it at all!”

Groaning quietly, she reached out and flipped the page before Adriel could stop her. Only a few more minutes passed before she flipped again, onto the page after that one. Perhaps it was her experience with bingeing manga, but Renge was an incredibly fast reader.

Which kind of sucked for Adriel, since he was the exact opposite. He sweatdropped, unable to keep up. “Wait, I’m a slow reader”

“Oh, really?” Renge tilted her head, giving him a look. Before she could bother to rethink her wording, she broke the silence again. “But you’re the top in class!”

At no point did Renge wonder what correlation reading pace had with grades. Then again, Adriel wasn’t offended. He was a slow reader by default, not that it mattered.

“I’m a bit blind in this eye” he answered, pointing to his left pupil. The burn scars surrounding it forced his left eye to forever be stuck in a half-squint, half-glare. 

Renge stared for a second before letting out a long ‘ohhhhhh’. Clearing her throat, she opened her mouth wide and began to make broad arm gestures.

“SORRY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!” she loudly asked, sounding out every syllable. (A/N: Based on a real encounter!)

“...what?” Adriel quietly asked.

“*ahem*, CAN YOU HEAR WHAT I AM SAYI-”

Before Renge could continue...whatever she was doing, the pair received a collections of ‘shush!’s from the other people in the library. Adriel gave the other readers quiet apologies before turning back to Renge with a stupefied look.

“Yes, I can hear you”  
“Oh, okay good!”

Brushing off that entire interaction, the two continued to skin through the pages of the book in search of something Renge could relate to.

Adriel could see what she meant; the main heroine was a headstrong, uptight young woman that valued family and business above all else. No offence to Renge, but they were kind of opposites.

As they spoke to one another, Adriel began to ask questions. “The heroine cares about her sister a lot. Do you have siblings?”

“No, I’m an only child” Renge sighed. 

“Okay. The heroine has a lot of responsibilities. Do you ever feel pressured?” he asked another.

“Barely. I just get my servants to do everything!” Renge chirped with a smug smile. 

Adriel deadpanned. “The heroine wants to break her love interest’s heart. What about that?”

“Not like me at all!” Renge exclaimed with a ‘duh’ tone. She leaned back in her chair , fiddling with the sleeves of her sweater. “Ever since I saw Kyoya, I’ve only ever wanted the best for him. I could never try to hurt him!”

Adriel raised a brow at the explanation. This was news; since when were Kyoya and Renge dating? 

Sensing his question, the girl quickly added. “Oh, but we’re not together. I just think he’s charming”

“I see” Adriel responded, even though he didn’t. “What do you like about him?”

It was silent for a few seconds as Renge processed the question.

The reaction was sudden. If she had bunny ears, they would’ve literally perked up right at that moment. Slipping on a sly smile, Renge twiddled her fingers as she stared up at the ceiling in delight. “Well…I think he’s very handsome. That’s the first thing I noticed about him; his dark, everlasting eyes”

Adriel nodded, pushing her to continue.

“After we met, I learned that he wasn’t who I first thought he was” Renge paused, shifting her gaze to the ground. 

“How?” Adriel asked, growing intrigued.

“I thought he was the charismatic, mysterious boy of my dreams! Kyoya was just like everything I thought I wanted; kind, soft and most of all, caring” Renge sighed as she recalled the memory.

‘Are we talking about the same person?’ Adriel couldn’t help but wonder. No offence to Kyoya, but he was definitely not a particularly nice guy. At least, from Adriel’s perspective.

“Well, what’s he actually like?” he asked. 

In truth, he wasn’t just asking out of nothing. Adriel didn’t know Kyoya that well, other than the random stuff Haruhi mentioned about the bespectacled male. Perhaps Renge had a better sense of his character.

“Really, Kyoya’s actually kind of cold!” Renge exclaimed bluntly. Her straight-forward words were a slight surprise, but only continued. “He cares a lot about money, and he’s a ruthless perfectionist. I’m surprised he hasn’t grown grey hairs from the time he spends working”

“Sounds like him” Adriel nodded in agreement.

“He can come off as rude to others sometimes, no doubt” Renge sighed, piquing Adriel’s curiosity. “But I think deep down, he really cares about his friends”

“How do you know that?” Adriel asked, though there was no malice in his voice.

“The way he works for his club, and the way he looks at the hosts tells me that he really loves them.” Renge smiled gently, a red tint dusting her cheeks. “Kyoya tries to deny it, and acts cold to others, but it’s obvious. He’d do anything to make sure his friends were okay, even if it makes him look bad”

Adriel paused, contemplating a response. 

It was true that he didn’t know Kyoya that well, so he wasn’t able to tell if Renge was being real or not. But Adriel could see just how earnest the girl was with her words. It was entirely possible what she said was true. If that was the case, Renge’s perspective provided him with a new insight on just who Kyoya was. 

“Wow…” Adriel trailed off. “You know a lot about Kyoya”

“I’m just naturally observant!” Renge smirked, crossing her arms. Adriel chuckled quietly before turning to face the girl with a gentle smile.

“Well, we’ve found something you can relate to the heroine on”  
“Really?”  
“Yep”

He paused, before continuing. “Caring for someone even though they aren’t who you first thought they were; that’s what the heroine does too”

Renge stared for a few seconds, before slowly smiling. “I guess so”

//////////

“Haruhi, what do you think of Kyoya?” Adriel asked, walking through the hallway with the girl.

Haruhi contemplated her answer before deadpanning. “Are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Yeah”  
“He’s kind of a prick. Like, a terrifying tax collector”

“Ah” Adriel noted with a sigh. 

The two were walking together to their homeroom. Along the way, Adriel paused to wave to a few familiar faces; Kasanoda, Umehito, Honey and Mori…

As expected, numerous students around them began to whisper once more. And as expected, Adriel didn’t bother to stop them.

“Why do you ask?” Haruhi glanced over at him, tilting her head. 

“Oh, no reason” Adriel shrugged.

Though she didn’t believe that for even a second, Haruhi decided to drop it. Whatever Adriel was wondering about Kyoya didn’t matter to her.

They arrived at their homeroom just a few minutes later. Luckily, it was still pretty early. Only a few other students were in class, so it wasn’t loud in the slightest. Offering nods of hello to Hikaru and Kaoru, Adriel walked straight past his desk. The twins and Haruhi stared in shock as he made his way to the back, where Renge sat.

“How was it yesterday?” he asked, grabbing her attention. The dirty blonde looked up in slight surprise before beaming.

“Oh, hi Adriel! Yesterday was good, I think I understand the heroine a lot better now” Renge grinned. She pulled the novel out of her bag and flipped it to a bookmarked page. Quickly, she showed Adriel the book.

Various coloured sticky notes flooded the pages, each with little drabbles of pen ink on them. As he read some of the notes, Renge continued her speech with a smug smile. “After I went home, I read through the book again and made notes on what else I could relate to”

“These are pretty good” Adriel’s eyes widened partially from the amount of detail he saw. He gave her a small smile in approval. “What else did you find?”

If he was expecting a certain answer, it certainly wasn’t this.

Awkwardly glancing to the side, Renge’s smile fell. She began to fidget with the sleeves of her yellow dress, unable to look him in the eyes. 

“Well, I, uh…”  
“Renge?”

“I think me and the heroine are similar,” she paused, cheeks tinting in embarrassment. “Because we both judge too quickly. I thought you were a delinquent when I first saw you. Sorry about that”

Adriel blinked slowly, looking down at Renge in silence. It was frozen for a few seconds before he smiled again. “It’s chill”

Continuing, his eyes softened. “It’s good that you recognized that. Knowing your strengths and flaws will make you a better writer, and a better person”

Renge’s beaming grin came back. She looked at Adriel, eyes shining in anticipation. “Thanks! So, library at 8 again today?”

“Sounds good”  
“Sweet! Here, I’ll give you my number. I’ll text you when I arrive”

After exchanging numbers and bidding short goodbyes, Adriel made his way back to his seat. He ignored the twins’ smirks.

“What was that?” Haruhi asked, giving an amused giggle.

“Oh, nothing” Adriel shrugged. He glanced down at the new contact in his phone with a smile.

//////////

Together, Renge and Adriel worked on the assignment everyday. It was due by the end of the week. 

After school everyday, they would meet at the library at 8 to study together. It worked out well, since Adriel’s shift ended at that time anyways. They would work in the seating area for a couple hours before the workers eventually kicked them out.

After the initial shock, Renge calmed down about Adriel’s prosthetics. She didn’t bother to comment on them again, which was well-appreciated. The tan male always changed into short sleeves before work, out of comfort. Throughout their study sessions, his plaster limbs were on full display.

There was an unspoken agreement to not mention his prosthetics to others in school. It wasn’t that Adriel was self-conscious, it was just that he didn’t want any more rich kids freaking out. He didn’t want any aristocrats fainting on him, now did he? Who knows what lawsuits they could file if he scared them.

Additionally, Adriel also used the time to do his own homework and writing projects. Though Renge couldn’t exactly help him there, she provided him with very kind moral support. During their study sessions, he got to know the girl a lot better as well.

Adriel learned that Renge was into otome games. Go figure, she was a romantic. He also learned that she was French, and that she was the host club’s manager. The role suited her well; as an otaku, she knew the club’s selling points like the back of her hand.

She talked a bit loudly, gaining them various other ‘shush’s from the other people in the library. Everytime, Adriel awkwardly apologized before continuing his work.

Her writing was getting a lot better. It was now Thursday, and the assignment was basically finished, ready to be handed in tomorrow.

“This looks pretty good to me,” Adriel commented, reading over the final draft of her diary entry. “You capture the heroine’s initial bias well”

“Great! No spelling errors, right?”  
“Not that I can see”

“Oh, thank god” Renge sighed in relief. Stretching her arms over her head, a loud ‘pop’ came from her back as she smiled. “That took so long! I’m pretty proud of it, though”

“You should be. Your writing improved” he noted with a smile. It was true; how satisfying it was to see Renge get better in such a short period of time!

“Thanks! I need to go take a break, though. I’m going to the washroom”  
“I’ll be here when you come back”

Gleefully, Renge stood up and skipped away, humming to herself. Chuckling in amusement, Adriel looked back towards the diary entry, reading it over in his head.

He was so immersed in it that he didn’t notice the footsteps coming up behind him.

“I take it Renge’s doing well?”

Kyoya stood a few feet behind Adriel’s chair, dressed in a black short-sleeved dress shirt with fitted jeans. Turning around, the tan male gave him a nod.

“Yeah, her writing got better,” Adriel responded, holding up the diary entry as if to prove her point. “I’m sure she’ll get a high mark”

“How nice” Kyoya offered a polite smile.

Adriel tilted his head, lips twitching upwards. It was weird to see the bespectacled teen out in public, but not an unwelcome sight. Kyoya just looked so...normal out of his uniform.

“Did you come here just to check on her?” Adriel asked with a small smile. “That’s kind of you”

Instantly, Kyoya’s smile hardened. The tint of his glasses gleamed as he adjusted them, looking off to the side. 

“Nonsense. I happened to be here, and wondered how it was going” the second year responded, just a bit too quickly.

“Really?” Adriel gave an amused chuckle. 

“Of course. I just finished returning a blu ray, and spotted you here” Kyoya’s smile did not fall.

He spoke with such confidence, it was honestly impressive. There was not a single falter in his polite behaviour. Adriel’s would’ve believed it, had Kyoya not been lying.

For, as a worker at the library, Adriel knew better. The library didn’t offer any blu rays to borrow.

“I think Renge’s right about you” Adriel gave the megane a thin smile. 

Caught off guard, Kyoya quickly composed himself, clearing his throat. “I’m not sure what you mean”

“You care a lot about your peers. It’s nice” the tan male explained. As he spoke, Kyoya’s eyes widened slightly behind his glasses, before falling again.

“I can assure you that’s not what’s happening” his voice hardened into an almost threatening tone. “Whatever you’re thinking is only true in a business context”

“But you do care about Renge. And the host club” Adriel protested. He could see through the lie as clear as day. “Why bother acting cold?”

For a moment, the two just stared at each other in silence. Kyoya couldn’t respond.

For he was an Ootori, and Ootori’s didn’t care about anyone. They were hard, diligent workers who only extended hands for business. Anything else was unnecessary; a waste of time for the family company. A deemed failure.

And he was the heir.

“Why do you think I’m so kind?” Kyoya asked, taking a seat at the table. He rested his chin on his palm, staring at Adriel with a hint of curiosity.

“Because you’re nicer than you think,” Adriel answered. “It’s not something to hide, so why do you?”

Kyoya didn’t answer. 

With a sigh, Adriel decided to drop it. If the megane didn’t want to tell him, he wouldn’t force it out. “Nevermind, you don’t need to tell me. I just don’t get it”

“Well, I admit” Kyoya paused, letting out a wry chuckle. “I admire your confidence, Min. How are you so fearless?”

“Fearless?” Adriel tilted his head. “I’m not”

“But you’re so outspoken on your beliefs. How do you do it?”

“Well, think about it this way,” Adriel admitted. Looking Kyoya in the eyes, he held up his prosthetic arm for him to see.

“I get weird stares wherever I go. Even if I do everything perfectly, someone’ll always find something to judge me on, even if it’s just appearance. But I can’t change the way I look; it’s part of who I am”

Pausing, Adriel looked up and finished his explanation. “So I just brush off what others say. It was hard at first, but I got used to it. The only reason I cover myself at school is so no one faints on me”

He looked straight into Kyoya’s eyes as he spoke. “I’m not ashamed of who I am. I’m not going to bother hiding”

It was silent for a minute as Kyoya absorbed the words.

‘How admirable…’

The bespectacled male gave him a wry smirk, eyes crinkling behind his glasses. “That’s an interesting perspective. It just proves how different we are”

Adriel hummed. “Hmm, it doesn’t have to be”

“...I suppose not, Adriel”

That night, Kyoya had dinner with his family. His father was busy discussing a recent business trade with another company. Yoshiro reminded his sons to stay diligent and obey all orders with an iron tone.

And for the first time, Kyoya found himself tuning his father out.


	7. The Grade School Host is in Love!

“Hey, slow down!” Asher huffed, leaning his hands on his knees. He panted for a few seconds, breaths loud against the sounds of the city behind them.

The girl turned around, raising an eyebrow in amusement. “Hello to you too?”

After her performance at karaoke, she felt pretty worn out. As much as she loved it, singing ate away at energy too quickly. The reddish-brown haired girl had planned on taking a stroll through the park before heading home, when her walk had been so kindly interrupted.

Asher gulped as he stood up straight, staring into her eyes. It was silent for a few seconds as he blanked.

For such a star student, Asher sure knew how to make any situation awkward. He had left the club after her performance, chasing her down only to stop and stare dumbly. Inwardly, the boy was panicking, yelling at himself to say something.

And it showed on his face. The girl smirked, an amused glint in her eyes. “You okay, kid?”

Asher seemed to snap out of his stupor, tilting his head in confusion. “Kid? We go to the same school”

Looking him up and down, the girl took note of the school uniform he wore. She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “Guess we do”

Asher was glad it was night out, as her staring brought a red hue to his cheeks. It spread all the way to his ears, bringing a tingling feeling to his stomach. One that he had never felt before, in all his years of highschool.

Clearing his throat, he glanced off to the side and cleared his throat. “I-uh, just wanted to say that um, you sing pretty good”

‘God, that sounded so weird!’ he inwardly screamed, only growing redder in embarrassment. At that moment, it seemed as though all his literacy skills had left him.

As he was busy trying not to die of his inward dilemma, the girl stifled a laugh. His embarrassment was kind of adorable.

“Thanks. You know, I’ve never seen you around school before” she commented, walking a bit closer.

I’m, uh, not that popular” he stammered, calming his pounding heart. Letting out a sigh, the boy held his hand out. “My name’s Asher. Asher Min”

She stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before smirking. Lifting her gaze, the girl’s brown eyes seemed to stare straight into his soul as she took his hand.

“Nice to meet you, kid. It’s Mila”

//////////

Ching!

The sounds of windchimes clicking together rang through the small shop as Adriel stepped inside. Nearly tripping over a stack of books, he staggered for a moment before balancing.

It was a tiny place. He had to squeeze through the crowded aisles, filled with crystals, candles and various fruits. Tinted lamps hung from chains sprouting from the ceiling, each giving off a hued glow. Potted plants and wooden shelves were stacked around, snuggling into every free space there was available.

A black cat sat on the counter, perking it’s head at Adriel’s entrance. From behind the wooden counter, a girl turned around at the sound of the windchimes. Her ebony skin seemed to glow in the gentle light of the shop, charcoal dreadlocks sweeped behind her shoulders. Her eyes widened slightly behind her round glasses. She wore a white blouse with wide lantern sleeves and a ruffled neckline, tucked into a calf-length black shirt fitted with a brown belt. Black boots adorned her feet, with golden buckles shining from the lamplight. 

When she turned around, she seemed to blank for a moment before a smirk etched onto her lips.

A small smile crept onto Adriel’s face at the sight of the girl. “Hi Aaron”

“What’s up, bud?” Aaron grinned, leaning her head onto her palm. She slumped on her wooden stool, tapping her nails on the counter idley. “It’s been awhile since you visited the shop, yeah?”

“Yeah. Sorry, school’s been busy” Adriel sighed, glancing around. “How do you balance your time with school?”

“Eh, I don’t get that much homework” Aaron shrugged, reaching over to stroke the black cat’s fur. “Besides, the shop isn’t that hard to run. My manager’s pretty chill”

A muffled ‘thanks!’ came from an open door leading to the back. Adriel chuckled quietly at the sound.

Aaron smirked, leaning forward on her palm with a grin of anticipation. “How’s Ouran? Are the rich kids nice?”

“That’s actually why I’m here”  
“Oh? What, are they giving you crap?”

“Kind of” Adriel sighed, crossing his arms. 

Throughout the passing days, his harassment had been getting worse. He didn’t think it would go farther than that confrontation in which he met Kasanoda, but apparently Adriel was wrong. 

First it was just snide remarks, hissed between his schoolmates behind badly-hid palms. ‘Why does he hang out with the hosts?’, ‘Who does he think he is?’, ‘I bet he’s high’ were a few notable ones that his ears picked up. At this point, the tan male had come to the conclusion that yes, rich people were just really bad at whispering.

Then came notes. Short ones, in the beginning. He would get insults written under his desk in pen, sticky notes shoved into his locker and letters slipped into his bag. Most of them were just vague, badly written comments that sounded like they came from a 10 year-old. Those ones were easy to brush off, as Adriel always did.

However there was one that he recently got, in which the tan male had a hard time forgetting. An ominous ‘Keep your head down, or else’ was written on a sticky note, found underneath his desk. Adreil had managed to shove it into his bag before Haruhi or the twins could see.

Adriel was good at ignoring things, but it was starting to get to him. Who knows what kind of trouble he would get into later down the line?

“My reputation is, uh…” Adriel trailed off in discomfort. Aaron raised an eyebrow, letting out a sigh.

“I get it, bud. The brats are giving you a hard time, huh” she leaned back scanning her eyes across the various crystals near the counter. 

“Not all of them,” Adriel added with a shrug. “I’ve made some friends. They’re nice”

“Eyy, that’s good!” she grinned, turning back to the male. “Nice to know not everyone at your school sucks. It’s just that most of them do”

Adriel looked like he was going to retaliate for a moment, before pausing. Letting out a sigh, he nodded.

“Then, I have just the thing for you” Aaron responded, getting off her stool. She hummed, walking over to a table holding a collection of crystals. Glittering gems of all the colours of the rainbow stared back at her.

She looked over them, hovering her hand above before reaching down and grabbing one. Aaron examined it in her palm, smiling as she walked back to the counter.

“Black tourmaline, the protection gemstone. Keep this in your bag at school, and it’ll keep you safe from whatever threats you face there” Aaron explained, handing it over to Adriel’s open palm. “If you’re actually getting bullied though, fucking report that”

“Thanks,” Adriel responded, eying the stone in curiosity. It was rough, with dull ridges of smooth black rock protruding from its core. Streaks of white littered the otherwise pitch-black colour, matte from its rough exterior.

The protection gemstone…

“Is that all?” Aaron broke him out of his thoughts, a smirk on her face. She had gone back to petting the cat on the counter.

“I want another stone to give someone” he answered, a small smile on his lips. 

“Oh? Do tell what for” Aaron wiggled her eyebrows, smirk growing wider. She leaned a hand against the wooden counter, glasses shining.

“He seems pretty stressed most days. He works too much for a highschooler” Adriel explained, frowning. His brown eyes casted to the floor, half lidded in concern. “I want something to take pressure off him”

“Stress, eh?” The girl rose a hand to her chin, pondering something to herself. Quickly, she walked back to the table and came back with another crystal. She slid it over the counter to him.

“Smithsonite, the relaxation crystal. It’ll eliminate fear and tension from him” she explained. 

Adriel picked it up, glancing it over. Purple, rough crystals stared back at him, dotted with little geodes of white and grey. Though it wasn’t exactly shiny, the exterior glittered from the thousand little spikes of crystal, each rough and protruding from it’s white base. The entire thing was shaped flatly, fitting snug in his palm.

The relaxation crystal...

He smiled. “Thanks, Aaron”

It was his turn to pay now.

Adriel pocketed the two rocks before reaching into his bag. With a bit of struggle, he managed to shake out a small stack of papers, stapled together in the corner. Scribbles of ink and pencil littered every available line, filling the pages with countless words and diagrams.

Aaron’s smile grew at the sight of the papers, She reached forward and grabbed it, flipping through the coloured pages in relief. “Aw, thanks bud! These are the ones I asked for, right?”

“Yeah. Atom structures” Adriel answered. He had written the notes a few days ago, after Aaron had texted him stressing over her Science mark. “I highlighted all the main concepts. These should help you study”

“You’re, like, a lifesaver” Aaron smirked, placing the neat papers off to the side. “Alright, that’s all I needed. Feel free to come back anytime you need something! I’ll always be at the shop”

Adriel nodded with a smile. The two exchanged short goodbyes, with the promise of seeing each other again soon, before the tan male walked away. 

Exchanges like this were pretty common between them. Adriel would ask for a healing stone, and in return, he would give Aaron a set of notes relating to her studies. They had been doing this ever since Aaron had begun working at her parents’ shop, since middle school. 

As the only two not-fully Japanese students in their middle school, Aaron and Adriel became close friends. They bonded over their cultural differences, and knew each other well. One could even say they were best friends.

Adriel smiled, running his hand over the rocks in his pocket. As he exited the shop, the wind chimes sounded behind him before being cut off by the closing of the door. Stepping back, the tan male looked up at the store’s front sign, printed in golden calligraphy.

‘The Little Witch Shop’

///////

Cat_Boy: i spent too much time outside a few days ago

Cat_Boy: i physically can’t move now

Cat_Boy: help I’m ij so much pain

Writer_Migraine: Umehito, why did you spend so much time outside?

Cat_Boy: saw a cat, tried to pwt it

Cat_Boy: mistake

Writer_Migraine: I hope you get better soon

Writer_Migraine: Get lots of rest, Leader

Cat_Boy: i wull!

Cat_Boy: i’m not at scool today though. I’m in bed

Writer_Migraine: Then, is the club cancelled for today?

Cat_Boy: seems like it srry

Writer_Migraine: It’s chill. Get well soon, Umehito 

Cat_Boy: 👋≧◉ᴥ◉≦

Adriel shoved his phone back into his pocket with a sigh. Since the black magic club wasn’t running today, he could probably just go straight home after school. It would make sense, given that he hated crowds.

Yet as he was just about to turn around and head for the stairs, something in his bag caught his eye. Reaching in, Adriel pulled out the familiar stones he got just yesterday.

The protection gemstone he brought with him to school today, hoping that it would ward bullies off. And beside it sat the purple crystal, meant to bring relaxation to those who hold it. Adriel stared at them for a moment in confusion, before quickly remembering why he got the purple one.

He turned around and headed for the stairs, although not to exit the school. Adriel instead walked the familiar steps all the way to Music Room 3, where his target awaited.

Only to crash into a smaller figure while opening the doors.

“Ow!”

Stumbling back, Adriel glanced down at the little kid he accidentally ran into. The boy rubbed his cheek with the green sleeve of his elementary school uniform, wearing an annoyed scowl.

“Are you okay?” Adriel asked, eyes widening slightly out of concern. The little boy looked up, glancing at the various burn scars on his face and screamed, running away in terror.

“Scary!” the boy yelled, disappearing behind the corner. Adriel only stared in confusion before shaking his head and entering the host club.

As always, it was as loud and bustling as usual. Adriel had to resist the urge to immediately grimace. Though was only planning on staying around for a little bit, the noise bothered him all the same. Hopefully he could get this done quickly.

Honey spotted him, skipping over to the tan male with a smile. “Hi, Riel-chan!”

“Hi Honey” Adriel put on a wry smile, trying to stay as far away from the guests as possible. Mori walked over and nodded a ‘hello’, receiving one back.

“Why is there a cage? And why is Renge…” Adriel trailed off, staring at the chaos in pure confusion. 

A large metal cage had been resting on the floor, along with a broken tea set and other random furniture strewn over. Renge was standing on some weird motor thing, slowly disappearing into the ground in a way Adriel would describe as almost ominous.

“Oh, Shiro-chan came by today!”  
“Shiro?”

“The kid” Mori grunted, motioning to the doors that said boy exited from just a few moments prior. Instantly, Adriel understood what Mori meant.

“Why was a kid even here?” Adriel tilted his head.

“He said he wanted to make girls happy, so we tried to teach him!” Honey smile fell as he stared to the floor in disappointment. “Although, he got angry and left. I think we might’ve misunderstood him”

“What did he say?” Adriel asked, growing curious. 

He couldn’t help it; Shiro seemed to be pretty troubled. Also, what middle schooler waltzes into a club to ask strangers for advice? Clearly, the little boy must seriously be bothered by something.

“He was running out of time” Mori grunted, crossing his arms as he stared at the door.

“Running out…”

Adriel paused, looking at the double set of pink doors he just entered through. Silently, he began to walk forward, sending a wave to the two third-years behind him. He exited out of the music room and began to walk in the same direction Shiro disappeared to.

Just like that, he had completely forgotten why he was at the host club to begin with.

Through the hallways, he strode, receiving more stares from random students as he walked by. Adriel gripped his protection gemstone a bit harder, rubbing his right thumb over it tightly. Onwards he went to the elementary section of Ouran private academy, where he figured Shiro would probably be.

It wasn’t hard to find him. Halfway through his search, Adriel picked up the sound of distant crying. Turning a corner, he glanced around at where it came from.

He was next to an open courtyard, filled with picnic tables, benches and patches of green grass. A play structure sat off to the side, along with a pair of swings and a set of monkey bars. It made sense, given that Ouran was such an elite academy, to have a courtyard in the middle of the elementary campus. Yet Adriel blinked in awe at its size anyways.

The crying had died down to sniffles now. As Adriel entered the courtyard, he spotted Shiro sitting by himself on one of the benches, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve. The little boy sniffed as he looked up, hearing the footsteps.

“Wha-scary!” he screeched, sadness being replaced by fear. Shiro’s eyes widened as he jumped behind the bench and cowered, hands behind his head. He curled up into a little ball, squeezing his eyes shut as though he were about to be attacked.

Adriel tried not to sound offended as he responded. “Shiro, right?”

“What do you want from me?!” the kid only continued to scream, shaking even harder.

If Shrio kept on screaming, they would probably get in trouble with the teachers. Eyes softening, Adriel walked over and sat on the bench, patting the empty spot beside him. “My name’s Adriel. Nice to meet you”

Curiously, Shiro opened an eye at the older male. He slowly stood up, hesitantly taking a step back towards the bench. Awkwardly, the little boy sat back down and fiddled with his sleeves nervously.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked, anxiously staring down at his lap.

Adril blinked, raising an eyebrow. “Why would I be?”

“Because I ran into you!”  
“Nah, it’s chill kid”

Adriel offered the nervous boy a small smile. Hesitantly, Shiro’s lips twitched upward in response.

That was good enough for Adriel. He was starting to get somewhere.

“My friends said you needed help,” Adriel began, staring up at the bright afternoon sky.

“You mean that stupid host club?” Shiro asked. Not even in a mean way; the kid just said it as though it was a distinctive label.

Adriel didn’t bother to protest it. “Yeah, them. It’s about a girl or something, right?”

The grade schooler bit the inside of his cheek, a frown coming onto his face. “Kind of”

“Tell me about her”  
“What? Why do you want to know?”  
“I’m an expert with girls, trust me”

Adriel crossed his fingers together behind his back as he said that. What Shiro didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him…

Hesitantly, the little boy began to explain. Starting from the beginning; how he and Hina were best friends, how they practiced piano together, how he slowly developed feelings, and how she was going to move away by the end of the week.

Truthfully, Shiro had no idea why he was spilling this all to a random person he bumped into. Yet, Adriel listened silently, nodding every one in a while to tell him to keep on going. The way the older male listened without any questions or unnecessary input just made him feel so comfortable, so valid, and so raw that Shiro had given the whole story in a matter of minutes.

“And it’s too late. I don’t know what I’m going to do” Shiro sighed, slumping his shoulder down. “I just want her to be happy”

“You care about her” Adriel finally spoke, it being the first thing he had said the entire time. “That’s why you want to do something special”

“Yeah, but I don’t know what!” Shiro groaned, pouting childishly. He stuck his lip out as he crossed his arms, hunching over in annoyance. “That stupid host club didn’t teach me anything!”

“They’re not mind readers. They didn’t know” Adriel deadpanned. “If you want to impress her, you should do something personal”

“Personal?” Shiro tilted his head innocently, as though he wasn’t just pouting. He trailed a finger over his cheek, scratching. “I don’t know…”

“Well, what does she like?” the tan male asked, giving Shiro a beconing glance.

“...”

Shiro paused, before looking up at the highschooler with a smile. “I’ll show you!”

The little boy grabbed Adriel’s sleeve and stood up, quickly beginning to tug in the direction of the hall. The older one followed without hesitation, briskly walking to keep up with the smaller’s speed. They sped through the halls together, Shiro’s smile never faltering.

Adriel was glad Shiro happened to grab his right hand. After all, he didn’t want a repeat of Day 1.

“Here!” the kid exclaimed, pointing at a set of doors. Above them read a sign that said “Classical Music Room”. Without another moment of hesitation, Shiro slid open the doors and dragged Adriel inside by the sleeve.

There was only one other person inside. Hina looked up from her spot by the piano, a smile on her face. It quickly turned into one of confusion as she glanced at the older male beside Shiro.

“Hina, this is Adriel! He’s my high-school friend” Shiro introduced with a grin.

Adriel gave the girl a soft smile, kneeling down to try to look less intimidating. “Nice to meet you, Hina. Shiro’s told me loads about you”

“Really?” Hina quickly smiled, a pink tint reaching her cheeks. She giggled, closing her eyes innocently. 

Shiro, on the other hand, looked betrayed beyond words. The deep red blush stretched all the way to his ears as he stammered. “H-hey! You traitor!”

Adriel chuckled quietly at the sight of the two. Those little kids were just so innocent, so honest. It was sweet how pure they were, even with Shiro’s protesting. Adriel always had a soft spot for kids; they were too gentle for this world.

“Hello Mr. Adriel. Are you here to listen to me play?” Hina asked, motioning towards the piano in the room. Adriel nodded, walking back to a seat at the side of the small room.

“Pretend like I’m not even here” he commented, plopping down on the cushions without a care. Shiro joined beside him, jumping onto the seat with a smile.

“Go Hina! You got this” the little boy whisper-yelled with a thumbs up and an encouraging grin. Blushing gently, the girl took a seat on the piano bench and began to play.

As she played, Adriel found himself growing more and more impressed. He nodded along to the rhythm, leaning over to whisper to the boy beside him. “Don’t you want to play with her?”

“A bit. She says she wants me to, but I think she’s just being nice” Shiro whispered back with a slight frown. “I barely know this piece”

“Why don’t you try learning it?” Adriel asked, giving the boy a raised eyebrow.

“Well…” Shiro trailed off, fiddling with his sleeves. As he was about to answer, the boy suddenly widened his eyes and jumped out of his seat. In the blink of an eye, he had run out of the room and into the hallway, shouting at whatever.

The sounds of screaming outside made the remaining two sweat drop. Adriel and Hina stared at each other in silent confusion before the tan male got up and walked to the door. “I’ll check”

He stepped out into the hallway, ready to figure out what was going on, only to get even more confused.

There the entire host club stood, with Honey and Haruhi wearing grade-school uniforms for some reason. Shiro was hoisted over Tamaki’s shoulder, screaming and kicking to be let down all the while the king stood, thinking to himself. Adriel’s puzzled expression only grew as he was spotted by the twins.

“Hey, Adriel!”  
“What’s up?”

The Hiitachins grinned, pretending as though whatever was happening was completely normal. Then again, this was probably about as ‘normal’ as the host club got.

“Did you follow us?” Adriel asked, tilting his head. 

“Kind of”  
“We came looking for the kid”

“Riel-chan, look at me!” Honey beamed, skipping over to where the tan male stood. The little blond gave him a big closed-eye smile, cheeks tinting pink. “I’m wearing my old uniform! Isn’t it cute?”

“Yeah, pretty adorable” Adriel mumbled, admitting it. Honey was already cute on his own, the little green outfit made him look even more innocent. Kind of a weird style for a 17-year old, but he supposed that was Honey’s thing. “It suits you”

The blond gave him a sweet grin back. “I bet you would look cute in the uniform too!”

Cute? With his scars, and his piercing, and his blind glare? Oh, no. Adriel shook his head, letting out a sigh of disagreement. “I doubt it”

“Oh come on Adriel”  
“The uniform would go great on you”

The twins responded with devious smirks. Hikaru’s grin widened as he teased. “You have the height of a grade-schooler anyways”

Ah, those were the twins Adriel knew. They snickered to themselves, letting out muffled ‘kidding!’s to the tan male. He dead panned, deciding to ignore the comment in favour of walking over to Haruhi and Tamaki.

“Shiro?” Adriel called out. In an instant, the little boy seized up before clawing at Tamaki’s blazer even harder.

“Let go of me! Adriel, help me!”

“What’s going on?” Adriel whispered to Haruhi. She just shrugged back, puzzled herself.

“Tamaki’s just doing his thing” She shrugged back, puzzled herself. He nodded, not bothering to question it anymore. From what he heard from Haruhi, Tamaki was always this spontaneous.

Although in that moment, the host club kind looked strangely serious. Though Adriel didn’t know him well, the blank look on Tamaki’s face was enough to be almost off-putting. It wasn’t something that suited his normally dramatic personality.

The sound of footsteps behind them made Adriel turn around to face Hina’s confused face. As the host club began to walk away, he turned around and offered the girl a small wave goodbye, before catching up with the rest of the group. 

Shiro looked pretty upset. Might as well tag along to see where this went.

“It’s time to go gentlemen. Quit thrashing around” Tamaki spoke blankly, leading the way. Giving up, Shiro slumped down and frowned, sending Adriel a sad look. He only offered a shrug of half confusion, half reassurance in return.

When they arrived back up in the music room, no guests were inside. Which was good for Adriel, seeing as how he was probably going to be staying around for a bit. Tamaki all but threw Shiro onto a couch, standing over him with a forlorn look.

“What’s your problem you big idiot?!” Shiro yelled, frustrated beyond words.

“You’re the idiot! You said you wanted me to teach you how to make women happy, but that’s not true, is it?! You’re only concerned with the likes of one woman, and that’s Hina Kamishiro” Tamaki answered. His blond bangs fell in front of his eyes, a deep frown carved on his lips.

He looked so...commanding. Adriel had never seen this part of Tamaki before. Then again, he didn’t know the blond that well anyways, but still. It was a lot to absorb.

“Listen Shiro. I know I said the job of a host was to make women happy, but when you care for someone, you must express what is in your heart! You have to tell her how you feel!” Tamaki yelled back, silencing the room. “You didn’t come to me wanting to be a host. You came to me wanting to be a full-fledged man”

Shiro bit the inside of his cheek, turning to face the ground with a scowl. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve run out of time. I just wanted to listen to her play before she left for good”

As if he had been planning this all along, Tamaki walked over to the side of the music room and pulled a set of curtains aside, revealing a grand piano. He opened the cover, exposing the sleek monochrome keys. “That piece was Mozart Sonata in D Major for two pianos, wasn’t it?”

“Since when was there a piano here?” Haruhi raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a music room” Adriel answered as the rest of the host club repeated.

“Well this is a music room after all”  
“Why wouldn’t it have a piano?”  
“It is a music room after all”  
“It is a music room”  
“It’s always been there, we just kept it covered up!”

“Okay, okay I got it the first time!” Haruhi whispered back, annoyed.

Their bickering was interrupted by the sounds of the piano as Tamaki began to play. Adriel’s eyes widened.

Never had he been a big fan of classical music, but the way the blond played was just so beautiful. The gentle rising and falling of octaves, sudden booms in volume followed by quiet reps, changes in force and emotion as the piece continued… it was as though Tamaki was being controlled by the music himself; pulled along through each bar and beat.

Yet, it was his own in the same way. No one would ever be able to play like Tamaki, for it was his own spirit that told the story behind the piece. In that moment, Adriel couldn’t do much but stand and listen, eyes closed in absorption.

Tamaki was more than what he originally thought.

“For the next week, you’ll spend your mornings, lunches, recesses and free time after school in piano lessons with me” Tamaki finally spoke, finishing the piece with a sweet note. He turned to face the rest of the club.

Shiro blinked, unable to process the question. “But why?”

“You wanted to be my apprentice, right? That young lady looked like she wanted nothing more than to play the piano with you” the tall blond answered.

Shiro bit the inside of his cheek, contemplating his choice. Was this a good idea? He held a newfound sense of respect for Tamaki after watching him play the piano, but he still didn’t trust the king that much…

“Something personal” Adriel broke the silence, placing a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. He gave the younger boy a gentle smile, nodding as if to nudge him forward. “That’s what you wanted, right?”

It was silent as all eyes were on the grade schooler. Tamaki hadn’t even acknowledged Adriel’s presence yet.

“...I’ll do it” Shiro finally answered, looking Tamaki in the eye with triumph. “But I wan’t Adriel to come with me!”

“Hm?” said male froze.

“Min…” Tamaki trailed off, as if he only just figured out that Adriel was in the room. The host club king froze slightly, remembering their first encounter. Yet, the blond knew better than to protest now. Not when Shiro had accepted his deal.

Also not when Tamaki still held his irrational fear of Adriel, who was standing only a few feet away.

“So be it” Tamaki responded, turning back towards the piano. He shivered slightly, trying to ease his nerves in the least conspicuous way possible.

“Wait Shiro…” Adriel awkwardly cut in, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I can’t make it after school, I’m in a club. I can go for lunch break, though”

“Fine. I just want you with me!” Shiro exclaimed, tugging on the older male’s sleeve like a puppy. “Come with me tomorrow for lunch, okay?!”

For such a bratty kid, Shiro was amazing at puppy eyes. Adriel nodded with a smile, accepting the child’s request. He was always a sucker for cute little kids.

Just what was he getting himself into?

//////////

“Hi?” Adriel entered the music room, closing the door behind him. As always, his bag was slung over his shoulder, lunch box rattling around inside.

It was lunch break the next day, and as he promised, he was going to sit in on Shiro’s piano lesson with Tamaki. Only, neither of the two seemed to be found? All the other hosts were present, each doing their own things in the background. Tilting his head, Adriel turned to face Kyoya, who was sitting at a nearby table.

“Where’s Shiro?”  
“He hasn’t arrived yet. Tamaki’s in the second practice room, by the way”

“Oh, thanks” Adriel nodded at the bespectacled teen. Kyoya gave one back before looking down at his laptop again, clicking at the keys furiously.

The sounds of typing reminded Adriel of something he had forgotten to do the day before. He walked over to the table, setting his bag down on one of the chairs. Kyoya gave him a skeptical look, pausing his work.

“What are…”  
“Here, this is for you”

Adriel pulled out the purple crystal of relaxation, glittering in the sunlight streaming through the window. Gently, he placed it on the table next to the laptop and patted it, giving Kyoya a small smile.

“It’s a relaxation crystal. Everytime I see you, you always seem to be busy working,” Adriel admitted, catching the bespectacled teen off guard. “Keep this with you, and it’ll ease your stress”

He said this with complete seriousness; no jokes, no sarcasm and no teases. Kyoya stared at the small crystal on the table skeptically, looking between in and Adriel expectantly.

“Really?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Not even annoyed or frustrated, Kyoya was just straight-up bewildered.

Adriel nodded with a smile, eyes sparkling. Strangely, he looked so innocent like that. Without another word, he turned around and left, waving goodbye as he walked to the practice rooms off to the side. Kyoya watched as his figure disappeared before turning his gaze back to the crystal.

He picked it up, giving it a tight squeeze. The rouch, tiny spikes felt like little pieces of sandpaper scratching his skin. The bespectacled teen was surprised it hadn’t broken already. He stared at it for a long time, taking in each and every little detail.

This...stupid little rock was supposed to help him. This tiny, insignificant piece of probably-plastic was supposed to help him calm down. This garbage, that literally fit in the palm of his hand, was somehow supposed to act as a stress reliever.

Funny. He should just throw it out and get on with his day. It was useless; a waste of space on his table. Why was he still holding it?

He glanced at it once again, the glittering shards sharing back at him. Glittering and sparkling, just as bright as Adriel’s smile when he handed it to him. That gentle, innocent smile...

Kyoya put the crystal down on the table and smirked. Then, he was back to typing on his computer.

The crystal didn’t move from the table all lunch break. When it was over, it was then placed in Kyoya’s book bag, right snug inside his pencil case.

Meanwhile...

As Adriel walked by the door leading to the practice room, he decided that it would’ve probably been smarter for him to ask which one was the second. None of the doors had labels, so he was left with trying to guess which one was which.

It didn’t take him long, though. As he walked by a particular door, the sounds of gentle piano music reached his ears from inside. Quietly, he opened the door and stepped in.

For a practice room, it was pretty big. There was a small stage at the front, with a spotlight being the only source of light. Tamaki sat there, practicing his piece with a concentrated, blank look. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he finished with a sweet note.

“That was good” Adriel broke the silence, making his presence known. Instantly, Tamaki jumped out of his seat and shot an anxious look at the door.

“Wha-ha ha hi there!!” the blond stammered out with a shaky grin. Awkwardly, Tamaki leaned his hand on the piano in an attempt to look casual. “I did-didn’t see you there, Min!”

In his nervous state, Tamaki lost his footing and tripped over his own feet. His smile fell alongside him as the idiot toppled onto the floor, letting out a quiet ‘ow’ upon landing.

“Are you okay?” Adriel asked, walking closer. He ran his eyes over Tamaki’s figure in concern.

“Haha, yep!” Tamaki all but yelled, quickly standing back up before Adriel could get any closer. He stood with his hands glued to his sides, nervously sweating bullets.

Tamaki wasn’t an idiot; no doubt Adriel was angry at him. The blond had literally kicked him square in the face on the first day of school; who wouldn’t be angry? Not to mention he indirectly caused Adriel’s prosthetic arm to come loose. Yep, not a great first impression on his part.

Except Tamaki was an idiot for those exact reasons. As he shook in fear, it seemed as though the host club king had forgotten that Adriel had literally never raised a hand in offence to anyone at school. The tan male was as gentle as a mouse; something Tamaki didn’t understand yet.

Tamaki continued to nervously smile as the two stared at each other in silence. Well, this was awkward.

Adriel broke it, nodding his head toward the piano. “You play good”

The blond blinked slowly, eyes widening. “Uh, really?”

“Yeah. What piece was it again?”  
“Um, Mozart Sonata in D Major”  
“It’s so fast. That’s pretty cool”

“It’s meant to be played like that,” Tamaki responded, sitting back down on the piano bench. “As in light, with a convinal tone and a lyrical contrasting theme” 

Adriel understood none of that, but nodded anyways. Walking up the steps of the small stage, he leaned his back against the piano and closed his eyes. “It’s a good piece. Must’ve been hard to learn”

“Well, not exactly” Tamaki sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Where was Adriel trying to go with this? “I learned it when I was young. It won’t be too hard for Shiro to pick up, as long as he practices”

“Can you play it for me?” Adriel asked, opening an eye to give Tamaki a small smile.

The gentle expression caught the blond off guard, before he quickly composed himself. Nodding, his fingers rested on the sleek keys before he began to play, albeit a bit stiffly.

His fingers felt like stone as he played, nervously jittering from the other male’s presence. Tamaki’s back felt like it was going to snap with the awkwardly stiff position he held. Though he played it perfectly as before, the blond was holding his breath in fear the entire time.

He was only about one page into the song when Adriel let out a hum. “It’s different this time”

“Oh, really?” Tamaki grimaced, biting the inside of his cheek.

He couldn’t help it; the way Adriel was closing his eyes made it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Tamaki normally didn’t get nervous in the presence of others, especially when he played piano, but this was an exception.

Because Adriel wasn’t just anyone.

“Are you nervous?” Adriel broke the silence, looking Tamaki square in the eyes. The blond’s cheeks burned as he tore his eyes away.

“Of course not!”  
“Really?”  
“Well…”

He was interrupted by a quiet chuckle. Eyes wide, Tamaki glanced back at the tan male.

Adriel covered his mouth as he chuckled, giving the blond a closed-eye smile. “It’s fine; it happens to everyone. Here,”

Adriel walked to the edge of the small stage and sat down on the steps, facing away from the piano. “I’m not facing you anymore. Try playing again”

Tamaki blinked, absorbing the words. Turning back to the piano, he let out a deep breath before beginning to play again. As he did, the rush of the song came straight back.

His fingers glided smoothly across the keys, rising and falling in force as the piece continued. His feet peddled naturally, as though he were only a puppet to the song’s melody. A smile etched its way onto Tamaki’s lips as he finished with a sweet note.

For a moment, all was still as Adriel sat with his eyes closed. Then, he turned to face Tamaki again with a smile. “That was good”

“Thanks” Tamaki responded with a smile of his own. “I’m glad Shiro’s learning this one; it’s one of my favourites”

“Why?”  
“Well, it’s a beautiful piece. Meant to reflect sweet, innocent love and livelihood. Or well, that’s what I think it’s supposed to mean”

“Young love?” Adriel tilted his head to the side. He chuckled in amusement as he recalled Shiro’s red face. “It suits Shiro and Hina. They’re so cute”

“Right?!” Tamaki suddenly responded with an eager grin. “Young love, oh it’s beautiful! I remember my first crush, I felt the exact same way!”

“I can see that” Adriel smirked as he watched the blond daze off into his own dream land. 

“Well, of course. I’ve always kept ladies dear to my heart” Tamaki hautilly spoke, a prideful smile on his lips. He turned to Adriel, beaming innocently. “What about you? Ever dated?”

Adriel grimaced slightly. “No”

“What? No girlfriend?”  
“No”  
“...no boyfriend either?”  
“No”  
“Never had any partner whatsoever?”

“Never in my life” Adriel gave him an amused smile, watching the blond gasp dramatically in shock.

Why was it so shocking to Tamaki? Wasn’t this the guy that thought he was a thug?

“Impossible! I could never imagine what life would feel like without love!” Tamaki sighed, splaying his knuckles across his forehead. 

“I know what love is” Adriel dead panned. “I just don’t know how it feels to date someone. What’s it like?”

“Hmm, well” Tamaki muttered, placing a finger under his chin. He gazed off into space as he spoke. “I suppose it’s like how you would love anyone else, only more pronounced. Like you want the best for them, and would do anything to make them happy. Even if you aren’t together. Makes sense?”

Adriel paused, not expecting such a deep response. Standing up, he gave Tamaki a closed-eye smile. “Kind of”

They stood there for a few seconds, just enjoying each other’s company when they were interrupted by the door opening. Shiro sauntered into the room, panting heavily.

“I got held back by my teacher! I’m here now!” The grade schooler gasped out. Regaining his composure, he spotted Adriel standing by the steps of the stage. He grinned, running forward and giving the older male a tight hug, almost knocking him over. “Adriel, you’re here!”

“Yes, I am” he chuckled, doing his best to not fall with the sudden force thrown at him. 

“You better stay around! I don’t wanna be alone with that creep” Shiro scowled, blowing a raspberry at the host club king. Tamaki let out an offended gasp, looking like he was about to throw hands with the eight-year old.

“I’m not leaving, trust me” Adriel responded, letting go of Shiro in favour of walking over to a small table in the practice room. He sat down on one of the chairs and set his bag down, pulling out his bento box. “I’ll be here doing work. Pretend like I don’t even exist”

Shiro nodded as he walked up to the piano, plopping down on the bench. Tamaki, albeit a bit annoyed, began the lesson right then and there. In no time, the duo was immersed in the song, practicing together in harmony.

As they did, Adriel opened his lunch box. Same as what he had been eating for the past week, a dry, plain sandwich stared back at him. Lately, food has been getting a bit hard to afford. His father kept bringing home less and less money each night, no doubt getting in trouble with his boss more often.

At least Asher wasn’t coming home drunk anymore. Adriel was okay with compromising everything else, as long as his father was okay. Though, that didn’t make his situation much easier.

The heater and hot water tank were completely out of commission. If he were to spend more money on groceries, the electricity bill would end up being too much to pay for. Grimacing, Adriel turned the sandwich over in his hands.

There was a piece of grey mold on the corner of a slice of bread. For a moment, he contemplated just throwing it away, but the rumbling in his stomach made Adriel realize just how hungry he was. With a sigh, he picked the moldy part off and began to eat whatever was still fine.

The sounds of the piano filled his ears as he ate. Adriel was reminded of Tamaki’s words from earlier.

“Like you want the best for them, and would do anything to make them happy. Even if you aren’t together”

“Young love…” Adriel mumbled. He pulled his notebook out, flipping to an empty page. With one hand, he began to write, lead staining the blank lines.

It was supposed to be a peaceful process, but Adriel quickly grew frustrated. Eyes glossing over the words, he sighed in dissatisfaction. The tan male ripped the page out and crumpled it, throwing it into a nearby trash can. Then, he began again.

He wrote as small as possible, going on both sides in an effort to not waste any more paper. Yet, after countless attempts, each page ended up in the same trashcan. Adriel’s hand was practically shaking as he grew more and more frustrated. He was about to start a new page when the bell rang, shocking him out of his focus.

Inwardly sighing, Adriel closed his notebook and packed up his things. Offering waves of goodbye to Tamaki and Shiro, the young writer left the practice room without much other thought.

Tamaki was going to leave too, when something caught his eye. The trashcan by the table that was originally empty, now had various papers sticking out of it. As Shiro left the room, Tamaki walked towards the trashcan and took a look inside.

Wasn’t Adriel the one that put the papers there? Bending down, the blond picked a stray page out and opened it, smoothing out the creases on the page. He began to read the barely legible scribbles, muttering them aloud to himself. 

“Of many reasons I love you here is one

the way you write me from the gate at the airport  
so I can tell you everything will be alright

so you can tell me there is a bird  
trapped in the terminal all the people  
ignoring it because they do not know  
what to do with it except to leave it alone  
until it scares itself to death

it makes you terribly terribly sad

All you can do is notice the bird  
and feel for the bird and write  
to tell me how language feels  
impossibly useless

but you are wrong

You are a bird-understander  
better than I could ever be  
who make so many noises  
and call them song

These are your own words  
your way of noticing  
and saying plainly  
of not turning away  
from hurt

you have offered them  
to me I am only  
giving them back

if only I could show you  
how very useless  
they are not”

Tamaki stared at the page for a long time, re-reading the final line over and over in his head. He  
was going to be late for his next class at this rate.

With a gentle smile, he folded the paper neatly and placed it in his pocket. 

Adriel had a way with words that the world could never understand.

//////////

“Hina, can you come with me?” Adriel approached the young girl. He wore his normal attire, consisting of his long-sleeved sweater and dark dress pants. Though it made him stand out amongst the people around him, he didn’t quite care.

The host club was holding their recital today, and had asked Adriel to go fetch Hina. Go figure, he was the only one apart from Shiro who ever interacted with the girl. He didn’t mind though; Umehito was cool with him skipping out on dark magic club today.

Hina looked up at Adriel and nodded, giving him a small yet slightly confused smile. Taking her hand, the duo began their trek up to Music Room Three.

“Where’s Shiro? I wanted to say goodbye before I left, but I can’t find him anywhere”  
“I’m sure we’ll run into him soon”  
“Promise?”

“Promise” Adriel gave her a smile, before turning to face the front doors of the music room. He walked forward and pushed them open, entering the cleared out club room.

As they stepped in, a rush of wind flew out through the doors, followed by a wave of rose petals. There, the hosts stood in lines, each wearing a white suit. Shiro sat on the elevated stage by a piano, with another one right beside him. Hina’s eyes widened in shock, a red tint spreading across her cheeks.

“Welcome Princess, we’ve been waiting” the hosts unanimously spoke, giving her encouraging smiles.

“I present to you, Shiro Takaoji’s piano recital” Tamaki stepped forward, giving the girl a bow. He walked back to the two pianos on stage, pulling the second chair out for her. “If you please, Hina”

For a moment, Hina just stood there unmoving. Then, she locked eyes with Shiro once more, and gave a nod of agreement. She left Adriel’s side, walking up to the piano bench and taking a seat.

Together, the two grade-schoolers began to play. By this point, Adriel had heard the song enough times for it to be permanently drilled into his head. Yet, it sounded better today. Perhaps it was the work of love? 

“We did a good thing,” Tamaki whispered, eyes not leaving the two on the stage. 

“Shiro loves with all his heart. That’s something you two have in common, huh?” Adriel responded, glancing over at the host club king.

Tamaki paused, remembering the poem he read yesterday. Closing his eyes, his lips twitched upwards. “I’d say so, although I think you fit that category too, Adriel”

“Hm?”

“Oh, nothing” Tamaki chuckled. He opened his eyes and looked at the tan male, his smile falling. “I...apologize, for, uh…”

“Kicking me in the face?”  
“Yes...”  
“And stalking me?”  
“That too...”  
“And judging my appearance?”  
“Yes, I’m sorry”

Adriel’s blank gaze stood still for a moment, before he gave Tamaki a closed-eye smile.

“It’s chill. I already forgot about it”

////////

Adriel grimaced, looking at the electricity bills. At this rate, he was going to have to say goodbye to the power soon. Anxiously, he looked over his shoulder at Asher, who was calmly reading a book on the sofa.

His father didn’t seem to have a care in the world. But Adriel knew better; Asher was just ignoring it. He was ignoring the state that their house was in. The cold water, freezing air, lack of food…

Adriel needed to start being more conservative with their grocery money. No more produce; canned food was cheaper, and lasted longer. He wouldn’t need to keep the fridge plugged in if he only got shelf-stable stuff anyways. That could help save money.

Adriel had already begged his manager for more hours at the library, only to be told that there were no more available. He was at his max for his weekly income. Yet, the efforts he took to get more money were being fought with his father’s lowering paycheck.

With a sigh, Adriel put the bill down and sat on the couch, trying to focus on anything else.

‘Hina and Shiro looked so happy together. Is that what young romance feels like?’ he wondered, placing a finger under his chin.

Adriel had never had a crush before, in his 15 years of life. Never had he ever experienced a kiss on the lips, or dating, or all the displays of affection that came with romance. Though it didn’t bother him, the tan male always wondered what it felt like to be in love. As in, romance.

‘Were Mom and Dad like Hina and Shiro?’. He glanced over at his father, who was still reading silently. For a brief, quick moment, Adriel contemplated asking Asher about it.

Then he froze.

Then he came back to reality.

For in the Min household, her name was a forbidden word. It was deadly; like a deadly poison that stained their lips. Not a single word about her could ever be uttered, and never had it ever been for many years.

It was a disaster waiting to happen; one wrong move, and their household would be in shambles. One whisper of her name, and his father would be back to drinking. Drinking, and drinking, and drinking until his cheeks turned blue.

All these years, Adriel would never say her name. He would bite the inside of his cheek and look away. For if he did, who knows what his father would do to himself?

He casted another glance at his father, who was still reading. Then, he sighed and turned away.

He would never be able to say Mila’s name.

(Poem used in chapter: Bird-Understander by Craig Arnold)


	8. Jungle Pool Vacation Gone Wrong...

(CW: Graphic Depictions of violence and explosions)

As Asher and Mila grew older, they became the closest of friends. Them being in the same high school made them the best of study-buddies. It worked out perfectly; Mila excelled in creative and artistic subjects, whilst Asher specialized in academics.

But their friendship was more than just that. Even when they went to different universities, the duo was always together. Through breakups, ugly crying and stress, they remained friends for the entirety of their student lives.

Asher worked at a coffee shop when he started university. Every day, Mila would walk in and tease the ever-loving-hell out of him. As much as he tried to be annoyed about it, there was always something about this little ritual that he looked forward to.

Perhaps it was the little smirk on her face, or that sweet, playful tone, or the way her eyebrows wiggled and her eyes shined when she walked in…

Asher shook his head, letting out a sigh as he adjusted his apron. He was working the night shift today. So far into the night in fact, that there was no one else in the barren café. Even his manager was retiring for the day, leaving him to close up when his shift was over.

Which was only in a few more minutes. Silently, Asher began to count down in his head, staring as the minute hand inched its way to the right. Just when he was about to start cleaning up, the front door opened, ringing the bell situated to frame.

Asher bit back a scowl as he put on his customer service smile. “Sorry, we’re closed”

“Aww, that’s a shame. Was hoping to grab a house blend”

His eyes popped open, watching as Mila strode up to the counter with a bright smile. How was she so chipper? It was midnight.

“Can’t you make an exception just for me?” Mila teased, leaning a palm against the wooden counter. Her eyes twinkled with mischief, doing her best to hold back from laughing.

“Ma’am, we’re closed for the night. Don’t make me call security” Asher warned, giving her a playful glare.

“What? Lemme talk to the manager!”

“I’m afraid he’s out. Can I close up now, Karen?”

“I’ll tip you like $15”

“...what size coffee?” Asher chuckled, ringing up the register.

“Make it large. I’m in for the long haul tonight” Mila laughed, paying her deal. She took a seat on a nearby bar stool under the counter. It only until then did Asher notice the eyebags drooping on her face, and the bloodshot veins in her eyes.

“Writer’s block?” he asked, spooning out the coffee grounds.

“Kinda. I don’t know what to make of my next project”

“What’s it about?”

“Romance. I have to write a dialogue between two people in love”

“And that’s hard?” Asher raised an eyebrow, pouring the coffee into a mug. He added the milk next, before sliding it over the counter to her.

“It’s harder than it sounds!” Mila huffed, grabbing the mug ungracefully. She downed half of it in one gulp, licking her lips after. An amused smile crept up on her lips. “Hey, you remembered my order”

“One milk, no sugar” he chuckled, leaning on his palms. “It’s hard not to when you order the exact same thing every day”

“Yeah? I’m a simple gal, my guy” the girl smirked, taking a smaller sip this time.

Asher tilted his head, giving her a confused smile. “Simple? Hell no”

“Oh?” Mila raised an eyebrow, taking another sip. “Care to elaborate?”

“Well, I mean you’re ambitious. Like, seriously. You do anything that you put your mind to...” Asher’s cheeks began to flush.

Where was he going with this? Mila was staring straight at him, eyes slightly widened. Her stares made butterflies erupt in his chest. Gulping, he continued, despite his brain telling him to stop.

“And you’re kind, funny, chipper...you can make anyone smile. Even a dweeb like me” he finished, stammering. Asher’s face felt like it was on fire with the way it burned, down to his neck.

For a moment, it was silent as Mila stared wide-eyed. Asher wanted to run away at that moment, hoping he didn’t just make things weird. Yet, his feet stayed planted as he waited for some kind of response. 

Then, Mila let out a giggle, leaning her head against her hand. “Dweeb? Hell no”

“...what?”

“You’re, like, the coolest guy I’ve ever met. And trust me, I’ve met a lot of cool guys, who later turn out to be not-so-cool”

Mila’s smile fell into a softer, gentler arc. “You’re sweet, even when you don’t think so. You love the people around you, more than the world could ever know. I guess that’s something we have in common ”

She was glad her tan skin hid the blush on her face slightly. Mila smirked, staring him in the eyes. “Also, you’re cute”

Asher blinked, before a grin played on his lips, dimples appearing on his cheeks. He glanced down at the empty mug, rubbing the back of his burning neck . “I guess that’s something we have in common”

The girl let out a laugh, fluttering her eyes closed. Asher found himself chuckling too, despite the nerves that had followed him throughout the whole ideal. He didn’t even know why he was laughing, yet it was impossible to be upset when they were together. Asher wasn’t a liar, after all.

When their laughter died down to quiet giggles, Mila turned to him with a gentle smile, eyes crinkling.

“Well, I think you just gave me some ideas for my project”

“A romantic, coffee shop sort of deal?”

“Something like that”

Standing up, Mila pulled out her wallet. Asher’s eyes widened as he shook his hands. “Hey wait, you don’t actually need to-”

“I insist, Mr. Barista. That was the best coffee I’ve ever had” she countered, a playful grin on her lips. She slid the bill across the counter before turning around. Offering him one last smirk, Mila waved her hand as she walked away. “See you again tomorrow!”

Asher watched as she closed the door behind her, disappearing into the still-busy city street. Glancing down at the bill, he picked it up. There was a sticky note attached. Squinting, he mumbled it aloud, cheeks burning up.

“Be my boyfriend?”

//////////////////////

“Tamaki called off the club today. Wanna walk home together?” Haruhi approached Adriel in the empty hall.

“Called off? That doesn’t sound like Tamaki'' Adriel chided, tilting his head. “Sure, though. Umehito’s still sick, so I’m going home too”

So they did. Their walk home was going well and mostly uninterrupted until flashes of pink grabbed them by the arms.

“Targets-”

“Captured!”

“Wait, what the!-” Haruhi yelled, flailing around as Kaoru tightened his grip on her.

“Hikaru, stop pulling” Adriel dead panned. “I don’t want a repeat of my first day”

The twins smirked, dragging the two towards a limousine. Tamaki rolled down the black window, clad in a pair of sunglasses that Adriel thought looked kind of stupid.

“Good work. Now, bring them in” the blond smiled, rolling his window back up.

“Where are we even going?!” Haruhi yelled.

“Is this a Japanese thing?” Adriel mumbled under his breath. For the first time, he was glad his manager called off his shift for today.

//////////////////////

“This place is a brand new theme park that my family, the Ootori group runs. It’s called the Tropical Aqua garden” Kyoya explained, sitting in a lawn chair with a drink in his hand. 

“I thought the Ootori group was a medical company?” Haruhi quirked, turning to the bespectacled teen.

“Think of this place as a therapeutic healing facility. Those who are overworked would love a trip to the tropics, but they may not have the time or money to afford it. They can now seek refuge and relax in this theme park. The Ootori group’s primary concern has always been maintaining the health of the general public” Kyoya smirked, adjusting his glasses.

“It’s pretty cool I guess…” Adriel muttered, glancing around at the theme park. He had never been to one before, so it was a nice change from the regular work schedule he had to follow. 

“The park doesn’t officially open until next month, but the host club was given a special advance invitation” Kyoya reminded.

“Then why am I here?” the tan male tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. “Are you charging me for this?”

Please, no. He couldn’t fucking afford that. Especially since the twins forced him into a pair of swim trunks that had no visible price tag on them. Who knows how much it costed?

Kyoya turned his head away. “Think of this as compensation”

“...for?”

“Tutoring Renge. Also the smithsonite. It’s really quite the gem, I wonder how you could afford it”

“You mean the crystal?”

“If that’s what commoners call it” Kyoya left it at that, turning his face away.

“Okay…” Adriel trailed off. ‘Weirdo’

Not that he was complaining about being here. The sound of a gentle sigh made him turn around to see Tamaki lying down on his own lawn chair, shirtless with his a glass. The blond really looked like he was in heaven, which Adriel couldn’t blame him for. Nice, hot temperatures were always soothing, especially to the tan boy who grew up in Singapore.

“This is so relaxing. We don’t have to worry about entertaining our guests today. It truly is a holiday for us young men!” Tamaki laughed.

“You two! Do you guys want some coconut juice? Or maybe some mango cake!” Honey chided, bounding up to the two first years with a beaming smile. Adriel shielded his eyes from the literal sunshine that was the tiny third-year.

“Yea sure, I’ll have some coconut juice. Just later though” Haruhi responded with a shrug. Honey then turned to Adriel, grinning expectantly.

“Same. Mango cake sounds good too” Adriel smiled slightly. When was the last time he treated himself to a desert? The sweets he saw at the supermarket were always too expensive. He needed to prioritize his grocery money, so deserts weren’t in his bill. His stomach grumbled quietly at the thought.

Honey smiled before turning around and skipping away, humming to himself. The sight of Mori staring at a bird made Adriel chuckle quietly to himself. He knew the tall senior had a soft spot for animals. He just hoped birds were the most exotic thing the theme park had.

“Hey! Wanna go check out the water slide?” Kaoru yelled to the duo, waving madly.

“Hang on. Haruhi, what’s the deal with that pullover you’re wearing?” Hikaru asked, eating a banana as he walked over.

“Oh, this?” Haruhi pulled on the sweatshirt.

\---- A little bit earlier… ------

“We’ve been asked to choose you two swimsuits!” One of the twin’s maids said, giving them a threatening smile.

“We’ve brought all our mom’s latest designs!” Hikaru yelled from outside of the mannequin room. 

“Just pick one you like!” Kaoru followed.

“We have bikinis, one pieces and bodysuits for you” the other twin maid spoke, nodding her head towards Haruhi. She turned back to Adriel with the same never-faltering grin. “And trunks for you. Choose whichever one suits the best. Male change rooms are to the left”

Adriel nodded, looking around at the mannequins. He chose a pair of dark green trunks that were loose, with a drawstring, ending at the mid-thigh. They would be the best, seeing as how they ended right where his socket started. After getting changed without much difficulty, he left the restrooms to walk back to where the other hosts were.

Along the way, he happened to bump into Tamaki, who was creepily listening in on Haruhi and the maids’ conversation. Adriel cringed, knowing exactly what was going through the blond’s head. “You need to stop doing that”

“Wha-ha ha! Adriel!” Tamaki yelped, jumping back as though he had just been caught doing something scandalous. Which wasn’t honestly that far from the truth. The host club king paused, looking Adriel up and down with wide eyes. “Wait...since when did you have a prosthetic leg too?”

Ah, right. Tamaki didn’t know yet. Adriel shrugged, glancing down at himself. “A while. Oops, forgot to mention that”

“Wait, so I’m the only one who knows?!”

“You’re the last, actually”

“Darn it! Just like last time…”

Come to think of it, since he was only wearing trunks, Adriel full-body burn scars were on full display as well. They wrapped across his left side, pink against his tan skin. The giant scars were impossible to ignore; the ones on his face were small compared to the marks on his torso.

Which Adriel didn’t care about that much. He could see questions forming in Tamaki’s brain; his staring wasn’t very subtle. Yet, the blond decided not to ask, which Adriel was grateful for. Now wasn’t the time for that.

“Are you gonna keep staring?” Adriel lightly teased, a small smirk on his face. “That’s a weird thing for a ‘dad’ to do”

“Ah- nonononooo!” Tamaki yelled, face burning as he took a step back. “Daddy just-uh, think his son looks great in his swimsuit!”

It was silent for what felt like way too long as they stared at each other. Sighing, Tamaki hid his red face in his hands. 

“That sounded even worse, didn’t it?”

“Go get some coconut juice, Tamaki”

\---- Back to the present -----

Adriel wasn’t going to let Tamaki forget that one. He was snapped out of his flashback to the sound of Hikaru’s voice. “Are you guys gonna swim?”

“Hold on, you two can swim, right?” Kaoru added.

“Kinda. I can like, sit in the water” Adriel shrugged. 

Truth was, he sucked at swimming. Though he at least knew how to float, it ended at about that. Missing half his limbs from only one side of his body made Adriel a really unbalanced swimmer. It wasn’t like he could wear his prosthetics in the pool either; they weren’t waterproof. 

“Fair. There’s a ledge on the side of the current pool you can sit on” Hikaru pointed towards the large pool they were just playing in.

Adriel nodded a thank you, going over to the current pool. Stopping just a few feet away, he sat on the ground and began to carefully take his prosthetics off. While Tamaki, the twins and Haruhi were arguing about the existence of inflatable pools, Adriel couldn’t help but inwardly chuckle at the things he was hearing. 

What Adriel missed, though, was the stares he got from Tamaki as he took his prosthetics off.

“Hey boss”

“What’cha staring at?”

The twins tilted their head, following Tamaki’s gaze.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just…” the blond trailed off, watching Adriel begin to take his arm off. “I’ve never seen prosthetics up close before”

“Yeah, us neither” Hikaru shrugged. “Don’t you think you’re being a little creepy, though?”

“If you want a closer look, just ask” Kaoru agreed, nodding his head. “No need to act all weird”

The twins paused, before turning to each other with devilish grins. Cupping their hands, they began to whisper to another with gleaming smirks. 

“Or maybe boss is just staring cuz Adriel’s shirtless!” Hikaru exclaimed.

“Wow, first Haruhi now Adriel? I didn’t know you were so bold” Kaoru whispered, biting back a laugh.

“Ah-ha ha no that’s not it!” Tamaki stamered, beginning to ramble to himself. “I just think his limbs are cool, and uh, nothing else! Trust me, I’m not into guys and I-”

Somehow, Adriel managed to not hear/politely ignore Tamaki’s loud rambling. Getting his arm off, he wrapped the limbs in a thick, white towel. Haruhi walked up behind him, a scowl on her normally calm face.

“Tamaki’s an idiot” she grumbled, eye twitching.

Adriel just nodded in agreement, not even knowing what she was talking about. Honey skipped over to the duo again, a seemingly innocent smile on his face.

“Haruh-chan! Riel-chan! Wanna swim in the current pool with me?” he asked with a cute grin.

“Not really. I’m not planning on swimming today” Haruhi responded casually. Honey then turned to the tan male with hopeful eyes.

“Maybe. I’ll probably just sit on the ledge, though” Adriel gave him a small smile. Somehow, Honey managed to get more cheerful as he responded with an adorable giggle.

“Hold on, you know how to swim. Why the float?” Haruhi interrupted, looking at the third year’s swim tube. Adriel had to agree; Honey had the strength of a bull, he definitely didn’t need help swimming.

“Hm! Just looks cuter this way!” Honey’s seemingly naive grin widened before he quickly pranced away into the current pool, humming to himself.

“Fair. It’s cute” Adriel mumbled to himself. Haruhi and the twins agreed quietly, coming up to stand behind him. 

“No way! You got it all wrong!”

Adriel slowly turned his head to see Renge rising out of the ground ominously on a weird motor. She laughed to herself, twirling around wearing a purple bikini and umbrella. 

“That rig follows us everywhere…” Haruhi dead panned.

“Is this a Japanese thing?” Adriel mumbled to himself. Somehow, Renge managed to hear his barely audible comment.

“I’m not even Japanese! Adriel, you know this!” the girl yelled, pouting with a playful glare.

“Oh, right” he chuckled. Looking at her outfit, something caught his eye that made his smile widen. “Cool tattoo, by the way. Cosplaying?”

“Of course! Don’t you recognize me? I’m Lala~” Renge sighed dramatically, off in her own dream world.

“Lala, like the manga magazine?” Kaoru questioned, just as lost as the rest of the group.

“Her petite slender frame! Her eyes that light up young men’s faces! La~ I am Quon Kirasagi!” she fangirled, twirling around with hearts in her eyes. “Don’t you think, Adriel?”

“Yeah, pretty cool” he responded with a thumbs up. He had no idea what she was going on about, but was supportive anyways. Renge giggled as she began to pose in character, watching Adriel give his nods and smiles of approval.

Mori walked up and sat on the ground beside him, leaning back on his palms. Even when he was sitting, the third year still managed to literally tower over him. Adriel paused his moral support to glance at the upperclassman, giving him a small pout. “Stop doing that”

“Doing what?” Mori hummed with an amused smile. He straightened his back, now more than a head taller. 

He knew exactly what he was doing. Eyebrow twitching, Adriel looked away childishly. “I hate tall people”

“You’re gonna hate everyone you meet, then”

“Not Honey”

“Mitsukuni’s the sole exception”

“Gee, thanks” Adriel huffed as Mori chuckled at his annoyance. “What, is your entire family this tall too?”

“No. I’m the only one” 

“Guess that explains it. You stole everyone’s height”

Mori couldn’t hold back his quiet laughter anymore. Somehow, Adriel found himself chuckling too, despite his playful irritation. Their little conversation was then interrupted by loud shouting, making the duo glance over.

“Listen up boys! You obviously don’t understand Hanninozuka’s motives!” Renge yelled, pointing at the tiny third year in the current pool.

“Takashi!” Honey cheered, waving at them. Mori offered back a hum of greeting, getting up to join his cousin. The tall male ruffled Adriel’s hair before walking away, not seeing said boy’s smile.

“What're you talking about?” Tamaki questioned Renge, a finger against his chin.

“Think about what he said earlier!” The girl poised, making everyone recall Honey’s past words.

“Looks cuter this way!”

“He’s not as innocent and naive as you think!” Renge exclaimed accusingly.

Meh. Adriel didn’t think Honey was that innocent or naive to begin with, so he nodded in agreement.

“I agree. Try putting the word ‘I’ in front of that sentence” Kyoya spoke up, pushing his glasses back. Everyone seemed to ponder it for a moment before coming to the realization.

“I look cuter this way!”

“That’s Hanninozuka for you! In the last chapter, he felt his position as the loli host being threatened by Shiro’s presence, so he’s taking actions to keep his rank” Renge finished, slowly beginning to descend back into the floor. “I should give him more credit, he’s smarter than I thought”

“Threatened by Shiro?” Adriel tilted his head, mumbling to himself. Shiro was literally eight. He and Honey were both adorable, but in ways that couldn’t be comparable. At least, in his opinion.

“Hey guys, look! Even though we’re swimming really fast, we’re not moving!” Honey yelled, perched on Mori’s back. Said third year was rapidly swimming against the current, not moving from his spot as a result.

Honey kept on his same, sweet smile. Adriel gave him one back. Eh, if Honey wanted to act super cute, what harm was there? Though the blond really didn’t need to act; he was darling enough on his own.

As the idiot trio suddenly began a water gun fight behind him, Adriel inched closer towards the edge of the pool. Sure enough, there was a small ledge that he could comfortably sit on. Honey seeing this, swam over to the tan male excitedly.

“Riel-chan, need any help?” the blond asked, beaming up at him. “The current isn’t too strong. I think you’ll be fine sitting here!”

“Sounds good to me,” Adriel chuckled, sliding into the water. Now he was sitting on the submerged ledge, waist deep in the pool. Humming, he kicked his right back and forth, watching the little waves he created.

When was the last time he went swimming? Adriel couldn’t remember. Lately, work and home had been stressing him out a lot. Constantly having to worry about his father’s drinking, bills, groceries and school had worn him out. Hopefully he would have a nice break for today.

“Say, Riel-chan?”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to try floating in the water?”

“Kind of” Adriel bashfully smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I need someone to help though, since I’m so unbalanced”

“I can help you! That is, if you want” Honey chirped, a hopeful grin on his face. Adriel smiled at that before nodding, moving closer to the end of the ledge.

Carefully, he slipped into the water. It was shallow enough for Honey to stand in, but Adriel still didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. The blond gently held the back of his head as he floated on his back. Together, they moved away from the wall and walked through the water, with Honey leading.

It was kind of relaxing. Floating on his back, humming quietly, with his friend holding his head and leading them through the water…

“Do you feel that?” Adriel suddenly asked. The waves felt stronger, all of a sudden.

“Feel wha-” Honey turned his head to see a giant wave approaching, Adriel following the same line of gaze. The duo shrunk back, sharing a look of wide-eyed rapid panic. 

“Uh oh...”

“Shit...”

“Get back!” Mori yelled, running towards the pool. But by then it was too late; Honey and Adriel quickly got engulfed by the wave, getting swept away in the current. They were nowhere to be found, long gone. 

Mori took another giant step forward before stepping on a banana peel and falling ungracefully onto the floor. Grunting, he pushed himself up and looked around nervously. He was so close to them, he could’ve…

“Gentlemen! We’re going after them!” Tamaki declared, pointing where the pool led. Everyone bar Kyoya nodded, setting out on foot in an attempt to catch up with the rapid current. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you” Kyoya spoke up, glasses flashing ominously.

“Wait why no-” Hikaru stopped, almost running straight into an alligator. He, along with the rest of the group, quickly retreated while screaming. “Why are there alligators?!”

Tamaki huffed, placing his hands on his knees. Pointing in the other direction, they set out again. “Alright, let’s try this-”

“They’re here too!” Kaoru screamed, dragging the blond idiot back from the wild animals.

“And here!” Haruhi yelled, jumping behind Mori as though he were a shield.

“Mommy, why are there alligators here?!” Tamaki exclaimed, panting heavily as he leaned over. 

Kyoya began to write in his notebook, completely unfazed by the group’s fear. “Yeah...we really should’ve double checked our floor plans before building this resort. Thanks for the feedback, I got some great data today”

“How much ‘data’ did you need to figure out you shouldn’t have wild animals roaming around?!” Hikaru yelled back with a scowl.

Kyoya just gave them a calm smile, snapping his notebook closed. Ignoring their annoyed stares, he got up and walked towards a nearby map. Clearing his throat, the bespectacled teen pulled out his pen and began to point at it. “This is a map of the resort. From our location, I’m guessing Honey-senpai and Adriel ended up over here, about 800 metres away. We’d better start moving soon, since they could end up even more lost if they try to find us themselves”

“Wrong. Adriel’s with him” Mori spoke up, making everyone look over in shock.

“What do you mean?” Haruhi questioned. The rest of the group followed her line of thought, nodding in agreement.

Kyoya, however, seemed to understand instantly. “Right, never mind. Since Adriel’s missing his prosthetics, they’ll have to stay in the same spot. In that case, it shouldn’t be hard to find them”

Haruhi glanced over at the map, skimming it with raised eyebrows. “Looks like a bunch of places are still being developed. Any idea what’s going to be lurking there?”

“Not sure. Those places are under development” Kyoya casually shrugged, not looking at all bothered.

“Then that means”

“Whatever’s out there could be even more dangerous than alligators”

The twins piped up, shivering at the thought of running into more animals.

“That’s not good. Since Adriel can’t move, what’ll happen if he and Honey run into something?” Tamaki frowned, a pit of worry blooming in his stomach.

Kyoya’s glasses flashed as he gave the group a stiff smile. No one seemed to notice the strain on his lips. 

“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen”

////////////////////

“Riel-chan, wake up!”

“...”

“Riel-chan, are you okay?!”

“...”

“Adriel?”

“...”

“...how do you do CPR again?”

Instantly, Adriel bolted up, nearly slamming his face into the blond leaning over above him. Gasping quickly, he slowly calmed down as he shook the water out of his hair. The tan male glanced over at Honey’s now relieved face.

“Thank goodness you’re awake, Riel-chan! Are you hurt anywhere?” Honey asked, a worried frown playing on his lips.

“I’m okay. You?” Adriel responded with a cough. The blond shook his head, turning around to sit beside him on the ground.

They were in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by trees and fake grass. Blinking, Adriel was about to ask how they got here, when Honey seemingly read his mind.

“We got pushed to the end of the current pool. I woke up first” the blond explained. “There were a bunch of alligators, so I picked you up and ran!”

“Alligators?”

“I don’t know! I’m gonna have to ask Kyo-chan about that one later”

“Same. I have so many questions for that guy” Adriel weakly laughed. “Thanks, by the way. Aren’t I heavy though?”

“Not at all! I’m strong, remember?” Honey grinned. “I can even carry Takashi!”

“Would love to see that” Adriel chuckled, imagining it in his head.

Come to think of it, ‘aren’t I heavy?’ was kind of a stupid question to ask, considering the fact that he was missing half his limbs. At the realization, Adriel grimaced, looking down at himself. “Honey, I don’t think I can move”

“That’s okay. We can stay here” the blond responded with a smile. He leaned back against the tree behind them, looking calm as ever.

“Unless more alligators come” Adriel cringed.

“Don’t worry, I can fight them off!”

“Please do not”

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t kill them!”

The third year’s “innocent” smile only widened. Adriel hoped he would never face the wrath of an angry Honey. He was too young to die.

Brushing off the ominous comment, Adriel leaned back on the tree and let out a sigh. This wasn’t how he expected his day to go. All he wanted was to take a break and enjoy himself for an afternoon.

Still, things could’ve been worse. At least Honey was here with him. Speaking of which, the blond was staring at him weirdly. Tilting his head, Adriel pointed at himself questioningly. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No, it’s just that I’ve always wondered,” Honey started, glancing over to the side. “Why don’t you call me Honey-senpai? Or anyone, really”

“Ah” Adriel blinked. “Right, that is a Japanese thing…”

“Oh, do they not use honorifics in Singapore?”

“Not really. Everyone just calls their classmates by their name. Sorry, I’ve never gotten used to using them”

“No, it’s fine!” Honey quickly assured, waving his hands. He sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually, you can just call me Mitsukuni from now on! I think I would like that”

“Sure. You can call me Adriel then” he smiled back.

It was quiet for a bit as they enjoyed each other’s company. No words needed to be said; they were just simply relaxing until something, or more hopefully someone, found them. Though Mori was always considered the quiet one, Adriel noted that Honey had his quiet times too.

They just weren’t as common, which Adriel didn’t mind. Honey looked back over at his friend. “Your earrings are really cool, by the way. Where’d you get them?”

“These? They’re my mom’s” Adriel flicked the black studs, smiling gently. There were eight in total; four on each ear, ranging from his helix to the lobe.

“She has good taste! I’ve always wanted to pierce my ears, but I’m not sure where’s a good place to get them” Honey sighed.

“I did them myself, actually” the tan male responded, watching his upperclassman’s eyes widen. He bit back a chuckle at Honey’s surprised face. “If you want, I can do yours too”

“Really?!”

“Sure, if you’re up for it. Might hurt though”

“Of course! Don’t worry, I'm used to pain”

“I don’t doubt that” Adriel chuckled nervously. Honey’s history of karate would never fail to terrify the ever-loving crap out of him. 

He wondered if Mori was this strong too. Probably, considering how straight-up jacked the stoic male was. Adriel didn’t even bother trying to hide his staring earlier; Mori was a ripped guy, anyone would’ve stopped to take a look.

“You and Mori are cousins, right?” Adriel asked, breaking the silence. “I can see the resemblance”

Honey gave him a doubtful look. “Really?”

“Yeah. Also the fact that your last names both end in ‘zuka’” Adriel responded casually.

“Well, that’s true. Takashi and I are cousins!” the blond chirped. “The Morinozukas used to be the Hanninozuka’s servants, but our families got connected through marriage a while ago. Ever since then, we’ve dropped the servant-master relationship”

“Makes sense. I know Mori kinda acts like your guardian, but it’s really the opposite, isn’t it?” Adriel spoke up.

Honey glanced over, tilting his head. “What do you mean, Adriel?”

“I mean, I know Mori doesn’t like talking much” the tan male shrugged. “So aren’t you the one who helps him? By leading the conversations so he feels more comfortable. It’s sweet”

For a moment, Honey just blinked, eyes wide. Then, a small smile creeped onto his face. “I guess that’s true. Takashi isn’t shy, but he doesn’t like talking that much. That’s why I do most of it when we host together! It doesn’t bother me at all”

“I can see that” Adriel stifled a laugh. “Still, that’s kind of you. I’m sure Mori appreciates it a lot”

Honey was about to respond when a water drop fell onto his leg. Looking up at the glass ceiling of the park, he held his arm out in confusion. “Is it raining?”

“Mitsukuni, we’re indoors”

“I know! But I just felt- there’s another one!”

“Wait, I’m feeling it too”

In no time, the raindrops began to pelt down on them. Whatever protection the duo got from the tree they were sitting under wasn’t strong enough to block the water dripping down from the sprinklers. Adriel began to shiver from the cold.

“Let’s move somewhere with shelter!” Honey declared, getting to his feet.

Adriel gave him an apologetic frown. “Mitsukuni, I can’t-”

Before he could finish, the small blond suddenly grabbed Adriel and hoisted him over his shoulder. They weren’t that different in height, so the feat wasn’t an awkward fit. Still, that didn’t stop Adriel from gaping at the feeling of being carried.

“oh my god”

“Let’s go look for shelter!”

With that, Honey proceeded to carry the tan male through the jungle, not at all noticing (Or perhaps just choosing to ignore) Adriel’s shock.

///////////////////

Haruhi approached Mori with a worried look. Knowing that the taller male was probably feeling nervous for the two missing, she decided it would be best to try and ease his fears.

“Hey, Mori-senpai. I know you’re probably worried, but Honey’s a lot tougher than you think. I’m sure he’s completely fine” Haruhi placed her hand on his arm, giving Mori a reassuring smile. It quickly fell into a deadpan. “I mean let’s be honest, he’s probably thriving”

“Hm” Mori hummed back in agreement. The comment did well to ease the pit growing in his stomach; Honey was not a force to be reckoned with. His cousin was probably off fighting alligators as they spoke.

But Adriel was different. Not only was he not trained in martial arts, but he was missing his prosthetics right now too. If he was cornered by something, the tan male wouldn’t be able to run. Just the thought alone sent another pang of guilt through his spine.

He was so close. He could’ve reached out and grabbed them, had he not been too slow…

“Hey, Mori-senpai” Haruhi snapped him out of his thoughts. “Are you worrying about Adriel now?”

Mori didn’t respond, tearing his eyes away. Haruhi sighed, giving him a frown. “Don’t underestimate Adriel. Like, seriously. He’s a lot tougher than you think”

“I second that” Kyoya cut in. Everyone looked to the bespectacled teen in confusion as he smirked. “If he can tutor Renge, he can do anything”

Instantly, the hosts’ curious gazes fell into ones of bafflement. Haruhi’s eye twitched in annoyance. “Seriously?”

“Hmph” Mori’s mouth twitched upwards. As stupid as it sounded, the words somehow managed to comfort him. Haruhi was right about Adriel; he was a headstrong guy. Though some anxiety was still there, Mori’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

“You’re right” he told the girl, giving her a small smile. “Thanks”

While the two of them were casually conversing, Tamaki pointed at the duo in dramatic shock. “Did ya see that?! Don’t tell me Mori-senpai’s out for my spot as Haruhi’s daddy!”

“Boss, have you ever seen Mori-senpai?”

“He is not that kind of guy”

The twins chided, giving Tamaki teasing smirks. The blond idiot only fumed in return, too flustered to form a coherent thought. “What does that mean?!”

“Tamaki’s a perv! Tamaki’s a perv!” Hikaru and Kaoru sang in unison, only adding more fuel to the already blazing fire. Whilst the idiot trio was off doing their thing, Kyoya answered the phone ringing in his pocket.

“Hello? Yes, we’ve run into some issues at the Aqua Park. Two schoolmates of mine have gone missing, both short and young” the megane spoke into his phone. During his explanation, the rain had stopped, revealing now clear skies.

Mori’s head snapped to the left, surprising the girl beside him. Quickly, he walked off into the bushes without a moment of hesitation. Wide-eyed, Haruhi ran to catch up.

“Mori-senpai, where are you going?!” she called out to him.

“They went this way” he simply responded, not noticing the baffled look on her face.

Haruhi ran after him, almost running into a collection of dangers along the way. Just when she was about to fall into another bottomless pit, Mori scooped her up in his arms and began to walk ahead. She stared at him, kind of astonished.

Mori didn’t say another word as they continued through the jungle. The gazebo the hosts were staying under disappeared from sight.

“Alright, we got that cleared up. As long as no one splits off, we should…” Kyoya trailed off, turning around to see that they were now missing another two people. He just stared for a moment, before his eyebrow twitched. 

“Oh are you fuc-””  
////////////////////////  
“I think I hear something” Adriel warned, straining his ears. Honey stopped, looking around the jungle.

“I hear it too,” the blond responded. Carefully, he placed Adriel onto the ground by a tree. He sent the tan male a reassuring smile. “Wait here, okay? I’m gonna go see what it is!”

“Not like I have another choice” Adriel chuckled, giving the third year an amused smile. Honey sent him a quick wave before running off into the trees, leaving him alone by himself.

Luckily, it wasn’t raining anymore. As Adriel sat around, waiting for Honey to come back, a sudden thought ran through his head. Did his prosthetics end up getting wet?

He immediately grimaced, shrinking back. They weren’t waterproof; if they ended up getting damaged, there was no chance he could use them again. And with the way the bills were looking, Adriel wouldn’t be able to get them replaced either. Prosthetics were not cheap in the slightest.

He just hoped the towel he wrapped them in would provide enough protection. He crossed his fingers, staring down at his right hand idly. Adriel continued to wait around until the sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Turning his head, he gave a smile to the source. “That was fast, Mitsukuni”

“Hands up!”

He froze.

“State your name and reason for being here!” One of the guards yelled. There were two of them, dressed clad in black uniforms. Complete with face covers, guns, shields and everything.

Their uniforms were so familiar, yet Adriel couldn’t remember where he had seen them before. His breath hitched in his throat. Guns, masks, loud voices and walkie talkies…

“Hey, answer us or we’ll shoot!” the same guard repeated. He pointed the barrel of his gun up, taking a few steps towards the sitting teen.

Adriel gripped onto the fake grass by his legs, knuckles turning white. He should answer. Or he should run. He should do something. Why couldn’t he move? All he did was stare wide eyed at the guards silently, though his breaths began to grow haggard to the point of almost gasping.

Run. Move. Scream. Cry. He was frozen.

“Hey, don’t be hasty” the second guard warned his companion. He held his gloved arm out, indicating for the other to lower his gun. “Didn’t Ootori say our target was a young boy that he went to school with?”

“Yeah. Our target is one of Ootori’s schoolmates” the first guard responded, voice hardening. His gun didn’t drop, only moving even closer. Snarkily, the man cast a glance at his partner in disgust. “Do you see this little kid? There’s no way something like...that could get into Ouran. I bet it doesn’t even go to school”

“Come on, don’t jump to conclusions” the second guard defended. He turned to face the tan teen, reaching out with his arm. “Hey kid, can you tell us your name?”

Adriel couldn’t even hear them. His eyes were fixated at the gun pointed at his forehead. That gun looked so familiar.

The tree he was leaning on disappeared, being replaced by the pushing rush of a crowd. The grass around him swirled into white tiles. They felt so cold, freezing his little palms. Tiny shards of glass littered the floor, along with overturned chairs, dropped food, paper bags and pools of blood. 

‘Is this blood mine?’

There was a hand tugging him forward, through the squeezing crowds of people. Shouts in a language he couldn’t understand rang from all around him. Angry yells, cries of pain and barking dogs filled his ears. It all blurred together into one, incoherent nightmare.

‘Where am I?’

It was cold. Then it was hot. A small green shell thrown onto the ground, rolling against the smooth tiles. With a cry, the people around him immediately began to push in the other direction. He was about to wonder why, when the shell suddenly exploded, ringing in his ears.

It wasn’t the only one. More and more explosions followed soon after, from all directions. It was like they were following him, appearing wherever he ran off to. Yet the hand kept on pulling him forward, through the crowds of other terrified people.

Adriel didn’t know how to speak. He felt so tiny, against the people around him. There were men in masks, with guns and shields and walkie talkies. They yelled at each other, voice muffled by the black mouth guards and goggles on their faces. Wherever Adriel went, they followed, throwing those deadly little green shells at his feet.

‘Don’t let go’ he whispered to the hand pulling him. ‘Please don’t let go’

But then it did. The hand was nowhere to be found, and Adriel was left alone in the sea of people. He felt so alone, so tiny, so deeply and utterly terrified.

Until a firm hand grabbed his shoulder. His voice came back to him, barely audible against the explosions. “Don’t let go”

Adriel jerked around and grabbed the large hand, so much bigger than his own. He gripped it tightly, knuckles turning white. He wasn’t going to let it leave this time.

“Don’t go. Don’t go. Please, don’t let go” he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. He pulled the hand closer, hugging it against his chest as best as he could with one arm. The hand froze for a moment, before relaxing in his hold. He brought it closer, clutching it harder as he mumbled under his breath. “Don’t leave, stay with me, don’t go, don’t go…”

Mori casted the tan male a worried look, leaning closer for Adriel to have a better hold on his arm. It was like he was latching on, desperately pleading with his life. He looked so small like this.

The guards laid a few feet away, both of them unconscious. A swift knock to both their heads left the two down for the count. After Mori saw the guns they were pointing at Adriel, the fury he felt was too strong to be held back. He had them on the ground in an instant, not bothering to give any warning or second chances. He didn’t regret it.

“Adriel” Mori softly spoke, rubbing his back with his other hand. “You’re safe”

“Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go…”

“I’m not going”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you”

“Adriel, look around” Mori told him. “What colour is the sky?”

The tan male slowly inched his head up, peeking an eye open. Squinting, he glanced upwards. “Blue”

“Good. What colour is the ground?”

“...it’s green. Green grass”

“Yeah, it is. We’re at the Aqua Park, remember?”

Adriel slowly opened his eyes, looking into the grey ones that stared back at him. “Mori?”

“Yeah” the third year gave him a small smile. “It’s me”

“What happened to the guys in masks?” Adriel asked, slowly looking around in caution. His grip loosened slightly, though it didn’t dare budge.

“I got rid of them. Mitsukuni helped with the rest” Mori answered.

The tan male’s eyes drooped in exhaustion. “Where is he? Everyone else, too”

“We found each other earlier,” the third year explained. “Mitsukuni told me where you were before fighting the guards”

“Hm” Adriel hummed back. Blinking tiredly, squeezed his eyes shut. “Let’s go back now”

Mori nodded as he picked the short male up bridal style. It was a bit of an awkward feat considering there weren’t many places he could hold onto, but Adriel didn’t bother complaining. He hadn’t let go of Mori’s hand the entire time.

They traveled back to where the host club originally was. Honey spotted them first, bounding up to them with a cheery smile that soon fell upon the sight of Adriel.

“Are you okay?” the blond asked quietly, already sensing something wrong. Adriel simply nodded back, blankly staring to the side.

Honey turned his gaze to Mori, who just shrugged in response. The tall male wasn’t about to try and explain what happened, especially when the entire host club was only a few feet away.

“Adriel, you’re here!” Tamaki exclaimed, taking a few running steps forward. He was about to go in for a hug, when he was tugged back by Kyoya. Confused, he sent a look back at the bespectacled teen.

Kyoya simply gave him a hard stare. In only a few seconds, he had already realized something was off. “Don’t”

Awkwardly, the idiot trio watched as Haruhi walked forward. She revealed a fluffy white towel behind her back, handing it to an awaiting Honey.

“Here dude, your prosthetics. Don’t worry, they didn’t get wet” she gave him a nervous smile, backing away. Adriel turned to her and nodded a short thanks. Not a single word left his lips.

Mori placed him onto the ground, ready to back off when Adriel tightened his grip. The tan male winced, giving him a pleading look. As if to say,

‘Don’t let go’

Even when Adriel got his prosthetics back on, he still held a grip on Mori’s hand. The once cheerful mood had dipped into the somberest of its kind, as even the twins couldn’t find it in them to make any jokes. Whatever energy Adriel had was sucked out of him completely.

One by one, they waved goodbye to each other as they prepared to go home. Throughout the process of getting changed out of his swimsuit, Adriel begrudgingly let go of Mori’s hand. He changed slowly, mind blank. 

This was the second time it happened. He didn’t even know what came over him, yet in that moment, with the gun pointed at his head…

Adriel shook his head, folding the swim trunks. He dropped them off in a basket in the changeroom before exiting back to the entrance of the Aqua park. Only Honey and Mori remained; the rest of the host club left earlier, having changed faster.

“Adriel, are you sure you’re okay?” Honey asked with the tilt of his head. He didn’t believe for a second the answer he got earlier.

“Uh, yeah” Adriel cringed at the sound of his voice. It sounded so raspy, so weak. “Just tired, I guess. Sorry”

“That’s okay! After today, I’m pretty tired too” the blond yawned into his sleeve. He looked up at Mori and grinned. “Takashi and I can drive you home then!”

“Sure” Adriel didn’t bother arguing. He blankly stared into space, head swarming with no coherent thoughts.

Mori took notice of this. Frowning, he placed a hand on Adriel’s shoulder. “You’re tense”

“Hm” the first year hummed. At this point, he was too exhausted to deny it. Honey sent him a worried frown, before slowly smiling again.

“I know! How about you come to our compound tomorrow and meditate with us?” the blond chirped. “I’m sure Takashi and I will need to meditate too, anyways”

“Your place?” Adriel lazily raised an eyebrow. He slowly turned his head back to Mori, doubtfully. “Are you chill with that?”

“Of course”

“Then, sure”

“Yay! We’re hanging out! We’re hanging out!”

A small smile twitched at the corners of Adriel’s mouth. Honey was adorable when he wasn’t terrifying. 

///////////////////

“You’re home late” Asher pointed out as his son walked through the front door. He was sitting on the couch, reading a book as he had been for the past few nights.

“Yeah, sorry”

“Rough day at school?”

“Kind of”

As much as he loved his father, Adriel was just way too tired to deal with anyone. Asher catched onto this quickly, motioning to the hallway with a smile.

“Go get some rest. It’s Saturday tomorrow” the man chuckled. He went straight back to reading his book, entranced in his own world.

Adriel dragged his feet across the tiles, one after the other. When he arrived in his room, the tan male flopped onto the bed with a heavy thump. He bounced up slightly, before sinking face-first into the cheap mattress.

He was fully prepared to pass out just like that, when a heavy vibration resonated in his coat pocket. Groaning, Adriel rolled onto his back and pulled out his phone. In the dim room, he could barely make out the words on the screen. Yet, he simply squinted harder until the notification became more clear.

He got a text from an unknown number. For a moment, Adriel contemplated just sleeping and ignoring it. Still, a small pang of curiosity filled his already dizzy head. Unlocking his phone, Adriel opened the texts app before reading the words aloud.

His breath hitched.

“Stay away from the hosts. Last warning. You aren’t safe from me”

Adriel shivered. The air just got even colder than it was already. Dropping his arm, he turned around and shoved his face into his pillow.

He was so goddamn tired.

“Aaron, the crystal didn’t work…”

(AN: One or more of these lines may or may not have been inspired by the Ouran GSA Abridged series on Youtube. Highly recommend, by the way!)


	9. The Red-Haired Volcano

(CW: Lots of swearing in this chapter, also some violence)

“Holy shiiiit!” Mila screamed, squeezing the steel handles of the white hospital bed. “Can this thing go any faster?!”

“Ssshhh, calm down…” Asher whispered, sweating profoundly.

“Calm down?!”

“Uh oh…”

“I’m shitting out a fucking human, do not tell me to be calm!” she snapped at him. Asher nodded nervously with a shaky smile, opting to sit back down on the white bench.

The ambulance car suddenly jerked forward, causing the nearby nurse to drop her clipboard. Picking it back up, she quickly composed herself before standing next to the bed Mila was in.

“Ma’am, deep breaths, alright? We’re almost there, just try to breath”

“I’m trying, okay?!” Mila groaned. With another contraction, she suddenly went quiet, desperately trying to suck in her breath. Asher placed the back of his hand on her forehead, wiping away the sweat that had gathered there.

“You’re doing perfect. Just keep breathing” he whispered, gazing down at his wife with a gentle smile. “Think about what our son’s going to look like. Imagine how handsome he’ll be-”

“Covered in blood and crying” Mila groaned, panting heavily. She scowled at the ceiling, glaring painfully.

“...nevermind, bad choice of words”

“Ya think?”

“Well, if he takes after his mother, he’ll be the most beautiful baby in the world” Asher smiled sheepishly. He ran his hand over Mila’s arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“...”

“Mila?”

“...”

“Are you hurt?!”

“...no...just trying to breathe…” Mila whispered out between gasps. Sweat poured down her face, hair sticking to her forehead. Her wide eyes stared unmoving at the ceiling, glazing over in pure agony.

Asher sweat dropped as he kept caressing her hand. He didn’t know how to respond, so he just kept whispering sweet nothings during her suffering.

\---------------------------------------

“Ma’am, Sir, here he is”

The nurse gently placed the towel into Mila’s awaiting arms, before walking off. A tired coo filtered out of the new mother’s lips as the little boy babbled. Asher leaned over the bars of the bed, placing a hand on her shoulder warmly. Carefully, she unwrapped the towel to reveal the baby’s face. 

In the warm light of the hospital room, the boy’s eyes slowly opened. First the left, then the right, exposing his dark brown pupils. He took from his mother in many ways; soft, tan skin, button nose, a small patch of reddish pair on his little head…

“He’s so tiny,” Mila mumbled, blinking her drooping eyes. “What the hell? Why couldn’t he be this light earlier?”

“He looks a lot like you, don’t you think?” Asher chuckled, reaching over to boop the baby’s nose. The boy only stared back up in confusion, tilting his head.

“Are you seriously pulling the short jokes now?”

“What, nono!”

“Geez, way to make a mother feel sentimental” Mila giggled tiredly. Glancing down, she ran a finger over the boy’s face. He continued to stare up, humming in puzzlement. A thin smile reached the mother’s lips. 

Asher looked down at his son, eyes glazing warmly. “He’s quiet for a baby, right?”

“Yeah. I’m sure it’s not gonna stay that way for long, though” Mila smirked. “Relish it while it lasts”

“Hah! Come on, I think he’ll be an angel” the man quietly laughed, running his hands through her knotted hair. “And of course I’m gonna relish it. Just like I’m gonna relish the next 18 years”

“Not just 18. For the rest of our lives” Mila added, kissing Asher’s cheek. “We’re gonna be the best fucking parents in the world”

“If his first word is a swear, we’ll know where he gets it from” he teased, nudging her shoulder. The woman laughed, giving him a weak punch back.

Settling down, the two continued to stare lovingly into their baby’s doe eyes. Funny, Mila’s vision was starting to grow blurry. Perhaps it was the exhaustion finally settling in.

Or perhaps it was the tears leaking the corners of her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. They landed on the white hospital gown she wore, staining them a dark grey.

“His name” she whispered. Her voice croaked, betraying the twitch on her lips. “Adriel”

“You sure?”

“Yes”

Asher kissed Mila’s forehead before reaching down and running a thumb over the baby’s cheek. The boy cooed at the feeling, reaching up at the hand to bat it away.

“Adriel it is”

Adriel stared up at his two parents innocently. He smiled. 

/////////////////////////////

“Straighten your back” Mori reminded, glancing at Adriel’s side of the circle.

He slowly nodded, although his posture made no move to change. Sighing, Mori reached over and tapped the tan male on the shoulder, snapping his eyes open.

“Concentrate” the third year spoke again, this time louder. Leaning back, he held his head high as he rested his hands on his crossed legs. “Deep breaths”

Shakily, Adriel closed his eyes and tried to breathe as deeply as he could. Awkwardly, he began to hold his breath, stopping to gasp for air halfway through. Groaning, his head drooped down, staring at his crossed legs.

“I forgot how to breathe”

“I can see that”

“Don’t worry, Adriel!” Honey chirped, opening his own brown eyes. “It took me a while to get it too. You need to meditate for a long time to get used to it”

“I don’t feel any more relaxed, Mitsukuni” Adriel sighed, leaning his head onto his palm. His leg was starting to fall asleep from being crossed on the padded floor for too long. “Sorry, I guess meditation isn’t my thing”

“That’s okay, it’s not for everyone,” Honey reassured. He tilted his head expectantly, a small frown on his lips. “Did you get enough sleep yesterday?”

“...” Adriel grimaced, rubbing the dark bags under his eyes. His head felt like lead with the amount of tossing and turning he did yesterday.

“Aww, what’s wrong?” Honey frowned. “Was it something that happened at the Aqua Park? You’ve been acting strange”

“Mitsukuni” Mori warned, giving his cousin a strict look. Honey froze, before sheepishly smiling.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry”

“No, it’s fine” Adriel yawned into his palm. “It’s just, I’ve been feeling distracted lately”

“Thinking about it?” Mori asked, turning his head to the tan male expectantly. Yesterday, when Adriel got cornered by the guards…

The third year didn’t even know what happened. All he could see was Adriel on the ground, whispering to himself, frozen in fear. His eyes wide and unmoving, as though he had just been shot. Whatever that was, Mori hoped he would never see it again.

Adriel winced, recalling yesterday’s incident. “Yeah, kind of”

What had come over him? That moment of sudden, suffocating fear that had swept him into another plane of madness and chaos. Where was he, in that alternate world, where he couldn’t understand the language and the green shells exploded wherever he went. He didn’t know the answer at all; Hell, he didn’t even remember.

“Maybe we can do something else then?” Honey gave him a patient smile. “Since you’re here, how about we give you a tour of the compound!”

“I’m down” Adriel’s lips twitched upwards. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet and let out a big yawn. His sore muscles were still aching as he cringed at the pain.

After tidying up their meditation cushions and leaving the dojo, the trio proceeded to walk around the large compound. Honey and Mori’s mansions were within the same grounds, only a walking distance between them. A tall stone wall wrapped around the entirety of the plot, encasing the family’s numerous buildings inside.

Apart from the two mansions, there was also a separate indoor and outdoor dojo, complete with hot springs and a waterfall. A small garden sat within the courtyard, with a stone path trailing to a bridge over a stream. The entire compound was ginormous, to say the least. Adriel had never even had a backyard before, so this was kind of new.

“This place is…” he mumbled. “Huge”

“What’s your house like?” the short blond asked, leading the trio down another corridor. He skipped ahead of the other two, light on his feet.

“Small. It’s cozy though. Maybe I’ll invite you over at some point” Adriel stifled a smile. 

“Oooh! Can you cook for us too?”

“Uh… I’ll see what I have in my cupboards”

“Yay, Adriel’s gonna cook for us!”

Honey skipped along ahead, missing the tan male’s nervous smile. Plain bread and rice probably wouldn’t impress the little blond by any means, but Adriel decided not to comment any more. He had already dug himself into a hole.

“Where is everyone?” he asked, glancing around at the mostly empty compound, save for a few servants. 

“Training” Mori spoke up.

“But we just came from the dojo, and it was empty?”

“We have multiple”

Adriel felt like Haruhi as he sweat dropped. ‘These damn rich people’

“Oh, right! I would introduce you to Chika-chan, but he’s busy right now” Honey pouted as he turned back. “Maybe we’ll run into him again later, though!”

“Don’t you normally fight your brother when you see him?” Adriel asked, remembering the times his senior spoke about his brother. ‘That sounds like such a weird sentence to say…’

Honey giggled. “That’s the best part!”

“Mitsukuni, not in front of guests” Mori reprimanded his cousin. Sheepishly, Honey sent Adriel an apologetic smile to which he nervously chuckled at.

“Alright, we’re inside Takashi’s house now!” the blond asked, opening the front door to Morinozuka's mansion. Honey and Mori walked straight in, missing the baffled look on Adriel’s face.

“Do you just wear shoes inside your houses?” the tan male stiffened.

“Why wouldn’t we?”

“What if you track dirt everywhere?”

“The servants can clean it up!”

Adriel stood frozen by the front door, before Honey and Mori proceeded to politely drag him inside. Looking around, he could count more paintings on the walls and flower vases than he had ever seen before. 

Strangely enough, the mansion wasn’t as extravagant as Adriel initially thought. Sure, it was easily 5x the size of his apartment, but it wasn’t super special in a sense. He found himself not-caring as he half listened to Honey’s newest story.

“Here, this is Takashi’s room!” Honey chirped, pushing the door open. Adriel and Mori walked into the large bedroom, the former’s eyes widening.

It was so...ordinary. There was a bed, desk, bookshelf, and a few decorations here and there. Toy robots sat on the bookshelf, on full display underneath taped-up band posters. Adriel could recognize a few of the posters, having listened to the same artists. And right in the corner of the room, on a black barred stand…

“Is that your bass?” he pointed, eyes shining in awe. Mori nodded as he walked over and picked it up. Moving the stand over, he plugged it into a speaker right beside it.

“You wanted to hear me play, right?”

“Can I?”

“Shoot” Mori smirked, taking a seat on the floor. Honey and Adriel crowded near, making a semicircle as the tall third-year began to strum.

The little tune he was playing was simple; the bass notes of Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz. Adriel closed his eyes in content as he listened, swaying slightly. The tone of the song was supposed to be bitter, sullen almost. Yet the tan male felt like he was slowly getting lulled to sleep by the steady melody. 

He was just about to start nodding off, when the sound of the door slamming open jerked his head up. Blinking wildly, Adriel glanced backwards where the other two were looking.

“Taka-nii, you play so well!” the black haired boy cheered, waltzing right in.

Mori stopped playing and cringed. “Satoshi, why are you here?”

‘Satoshi’ grinned, looking around the room with his hands on his hips. “I was looking around for my helmet, when I heard you playing. So I came in to listen!”

It was only until then that the younger boy finally took notice of the newcomer in the room. He tilted his head curiously. “Eh? Who’s that?”

“Adriel. I told you about him, remember?” Mori responded. Said male glanced at him in inquiry over the second sentence, but before he could ask, Satoshi cut in.

“Woah, you’re Adriel-senpai?!”

“Yes, nice to meet you?”

“Taka-nii and Mitsuku-nii talk about you so much, I’ve always wanted to meet you!”

Adriel looked at the two third-years in slight amusement, lips twitching upwards in a smirk. He turned to face Satoshi again. “Good things, I hope?”

Before Satoshi could answer that, Mori crossed his arms over his chest, repeatedly mouthing “Do not”. Blinking, the younger boy let out a sheepish laugh.

“Yeah, you could say that…”

“What?”

“Anyways, you’re not Japanese, right? You speak so well for a foreigner!”

“He’s lived here for years, Satoshi-chan” Honey cut in. His smile seemed just a bit more tense if you looked closer. “He moved from Singapore when he was eight”

Satoshi gaped, eyes filling with stars. Kneeling down, he leaned forward to Adriel with an awestruck smile. “So you know Singaporean?”

Adriel sweat dropped. “Singaporean isn’t a language. I know Malay, though”

“Really? Say something in Malaysian!” Satoshi’s slightly over-bearing smile didn’t drop.

Suddenly, Adriel forgot every single word he had ever learned in Malay. He blanked, eyes spacing apart. “Uhhhh…”

“Satoshi-chan, I think your helmet might be with Chika-chan” Honey interrupted with an overly enthusiastic tone. He gave the younger boy a threatening smile, eyes screaming danger. “You should probably go ask him about it”

“Oh, you’re right! Then, I hope to see you again at some point Adriel-senpai” Satoshi waved goodbye with an innocent tone, turning to exit the room. When the door closed behind him, both of the third years slumped down in exhaustion.

“Sorry” Mori groaned, red face hidden in his palms. The tall male looked like he would rather be anywhere else at the moment, what with his little brother’s actions. “He has no filter”

“It’s fine, he seems nice” Adriel stifled a tired laugh. “Are you gonna keep playing now?”

Mori nodded. Just as he was about to start strumming again however, the sound of a phone timer going off interrupted them. Adriel paused before digging through his pocket and turning the alarm off. He sighed, stomach filling with dread.

“Sorry, I have to go soon. I need to get to the library” Adriel spoke, standing up. His shift was going to start soon, and he was going to be working until late in the day. What a way to spend a Saturday.

“Do you want us to drive you?” Honey asked patiently. The blond recieved a shake of the head back. Nodding, Honey and Mori walked Adriel to the entrance of the compound before seeing him off.

They parted ways with a simple wave and a promise to meet again soon. As they closed the door, Honey turned to face his cousin with a frown.

“Are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?”

Mori paused, before shaking his head. 

“I don’t know what happened either”

//////////////////////////////////////

Adriel walked through the small town with a heavy sigh, massaging his neck. Work hadn’t been particularly hard, but sitting in place for hours on end had its downfalls. Still, he would rather get extra hours than not. Especially since his father had been spending more and more time at home and not at his office.

But he didn’t dare complain about it. As frustrating as it was, Adriel would never raise concerns against his father. For he wouldn’t want to risk triggering Asher into spiraling back into a night of drinking. His father had been sober for a month now; that was the longest it had ever been.

All Adriel had to do was stay silent and manage the money on his own. Everything would be okay as long as he was responsible and smart with his work. Everything would be okay, he repeated.

“Didn’t expect to run into you today” a haughty voice interrupted his thoughts. Adriel looked up and barely held back a grimace.

There, standing inside the alley he just passed, was the one who had almost pushed him into the fountain a few weeks ago. The boy’s black hair and high end clothing made him stand out amongst the dark brick walls, yet Adriel hadn’t even noticed him there. He wore the same stupid smirk as he did when they met before, eyes half lidded in amusement.

“Can I help you?” Adriel stiffened, taking a few cautious steps back. The dark sky seemed to get even dimmer as the boy moved closer. 

“Oh, of course you can!” the boy replied with a wide smile. He leaned forward and grabbed Adriel’s right arm, squeezing it to the point of cutting off his circulation. The boy closed his eyes, before falling into a dark scowl. “But I’m sure you won’t like what I’m asking for. After all, you didn’t listen to me the first time”

“The first time?” Adriel tilted his head, before his eyes widened. It dawned on him. “You’re the one who gave me that sticky note”

“And the one who sent the text yesterday” the boy smiled. “I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now, right? Since you’re the smartass scholarship kid and all”

Adriel wrung his hand from the boy's grip, turning to walk away. “Yeah, that’s me”

Before he could move anymore, the boy suddenly reached out and grabbed Adriel by the collar, lifting the shorter male off the ground with a snarl. “Why haven’t you listened to me? I told you to stay away from the host club!”

“Oh yeah, you did” Adriel muttered, glancing into the boy’s angry eyes. His lips twitched upwards in an amused smile. “Are you jealous? You know, the host club accepts male guests if you ever wanna join in-”

“It’s not fucking that!” the boy yelled, dropping Adriel abruptly. “Do you know how embarrassing it is to be compared to a commoner like you? My mom’s always on my ass, telling me that I should be making connections with the host club since they’re all so powerful”

“You can, though?” Adriel winced, rubbing his sore back. “If you want, I can introduce you to them”

The boy huffed, turning away to cross his arms. “I don’t need your help. And the hosts already know who I am”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“They hate me, that’s what!” the boy shouted, whipping back around to jab an accusatory finger at Adriel’s chest. “I’ve tried striking up business deals with them before, and they’ve always said no. Fuckers think they’re so special just because they’re popular”

“That doesn’t mean they hate you. They just don’t care about making business deals” Adriel responded, brushing the dirt off his clothes. “I’m friends with them because they’re cool, not because of business”

“Yeah, and that’s the worst part” the boy grunted, giving him a sharp glare. “How are you, a commoner with no tact, so buddy-buddy with the hosts? At least Fujioka wears a uniform; you don’t even try to fit in”

Adriel tried his best to not look offended. “Rude”

“And now my mom’s giving me shit about it, saying that if a commoner can make connections just like that, I should be able to too” the boy spat out in anger. “It’s so goddamn annoying, I hate it!”

“Sounds like it,” Adriel responded calmly. “You should talk it out with her. Comparison between social connections isn’t good for mental health”

“You’re not my fucking therapist!” the boy shot back. Furrowing his brow, he pinched the bridge of his nose in disgust before letting out a deep sigh. “Look, just stop hanging out with the hosts, okay? That’d solve all my problems easily”

“How does your mom even know who I’m friends with?”

“Uh, everyone knows. Haven’t you read the school newspaper?”

“Well, I’m not going to now”

“Everyone who goes to Ouran and their family knows about you. You and Fujioka are the hottest shit in gossip” the boy sighed heavily. “So you’d better stop hanging out with the hosts, okay? Especially not Suoh-kun”

Adriel placed his hand on his chin, as if contemplating, for a few seconds. After a small silence, he lifted his gaze and looked the boy straight in the eyes. “no”

It happened so quickly. One minute Adriel was staring into the boy’s grey eyes, and the next he was on the ground, a sharp ache in his jaw. His back connected against the wall, sharp bricks scratching through the thin material of his jacket. Adriel landed on his prosthetic arm with a loud ‘snap!’, the sound making him wince more than the pain.

The furious boy was about to land a kick next, when the sound of shouting interrupted the two. 

“What the hell’s going on here?!” Kasanoda’s angry voice bellowed from the entrance of the alley. The red-haired boy glared at the unnamed one, fist clenching in his pocket. “Rui, if you don’t start running, I’ll give you a reason to”

The boy, now named Rui, shrunk back in fear. Sending Adriel one last glare, he ran deep into the alley, away from the other two. The tan male sighed in relief, before attempting to stand up.

“Thanks, Kasanoda” Adriel gave him a sheepish smile. “Probably shouldn’t have sassed him so hard, huh?”

Kasanoda helped steady the boy by the shoulder, glare turning into a furrowed frown. “That looked like it hurt. Are you okay…”

The red-haired boy’s eyes wandered downward to Adriel’s left arm, before his eyes widened. Kasanoda jumped back and screamed, eyes widening crazily. “Holy shit your arm!”

Adriel looked down in confusion before immediately catching on. The black glove he wore over his prosthetic was turned the other way, facing backwards in an unnatural manner. The wrist probably got twisted when he fell down earlier, hence the snapping sound.

“Oh, yeah I’m fine. Just gotta, uh, walk it off

“Your hand’s facing the wrong way?!”

Adriel sighed. Looks like there was no point trying to hide it anymore. He pulled his thin jacket’s sleeve up, exposing the rest of his prosthetic.

Kasanoda blinked slowly, before letting out a long ‘ooohhhhhh’. Adriel stifled a laugh at the reaction, before quickly cringing upon the aching pain in his jaw. He reached his arm up, feeling the soft, fleshy part of his face.

“That doesn’t look so good” Kasanoda sucked in a breath, glossing over the spot with the back of his palm. He frowned, stepping back. “There’s gonna be a wicked bruise there tomorrow. Man, I should’ve stepped in sooner”

“It’s okay” Adriel waved his hand casually. “Thanks for scaring that guy off anyways. Rui, was his name?”

“Yeah. He’s a third-year” Kasanoda began to scowl once more, anger reaching his cheeks. “That asshole’s the heir to a medical company; Takahashi hospitals. Ironic, since he sucks the life out of everyone he talks to”

“Takahashi?” Adriel mumbled under his breath. That was the name of the hospital closest to his house.

Kasanoda sighed, glancing down at the tan male with a furrowed brow. “You’ve gotta report him, you know? He’s not gonna leave you alone until you do”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I will” Adriel gave the older a little smile. His fingers crossed behind his back.

Because who the hell would believe him if he actually tried to report to Suoh-san? Rui had enough money to send him spiraling into debt forever. Anything and everything could be hidden with the work of a few bad lawyers and under-the-table cheques.

“Good” Kasanoda gave him a smirk, ruffling Adriel’s hair. “You want me to get you to a doctor? That punch must’ve really hurt”

“I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt” Adriel quickly responded, fixing his hair. ‘And who knows what they’ll charge me…’

“Alright, if you say so” the red-haired male hesitantly answered. He huffed, crossing his arms. “We’ve really, uh, gotta stop meeting like this”

“Hopefully next time won’t be so painful” Adriel laughed. “Give me your number and we’ll find out together”

For a moment, Kasanoda just stared blankly. Then, like a volcano suddenly exploding, his face erupted into a mess of red hues, reaching down to his neck. Coughing into his sleeve, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared down at the floor bashfully.

“S-sure, I guess. Don’t go thinking I do this for everyone, though!”

“Guess I’m special then, Ritsu”

“What’s with that stupid smirk?!”

////////////////////////////////

Adriel shut the door behind him, holding his still-aching jaw. He could feel a bump forming already. Hopefully it’ll go away by the time he has to go to school again.

Walking past the living room, he waved a hello to his father, who was sitting on the same couch as always. Asher looked back with a smile, before his eyes widened.

“Is that a bruise?”

“Maybe?” Adriel responded a bit too quickly, averting his eyes. Asher sighed, putting his book down on his lap.

“Where’d you get that? Was it from -what’s their names- Honey and Mori’s house” his father asked with a frown eyebrows rising in worry.

“No, I just walked into a door”

“Really? Normally you aren’t this clumsy”

“I was just tired today,” Adriel sighed. The statement wasn’t wrong, yet it wasn’t the truth either. “Anyways, I got paid today”

“Oh, perfect!” Asher abruptly grinned, picking his book up again. “Thanks, Adriel. I knew I could count on you”

“Count on me?”

“Well…”

“Dad”

Asher’s nervous smile fell into an ashamed frown. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his book. “I’m sorry. My paycheck got lowered. Again”

It was silent for a few seconds as Adriel digested. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his temples. “Why did it happen this time?”

“I guess the boss doesn’t like it when I show up late” Asher nervously chuckled. “It won’t happen again, trust me Adriel”

That was the 4th time he’s heard it before. Yet Adriel simply nodded in response, lips pressed into a tight line. “Okay”

Asher gave him a warm smile before continuing to read his book. Walking through the little hallway, Adriel sucked his teeth, hiding his shaking fist.

Today was the day to pay the bills. He wondered how long the electricity could go being unpaid before it died out on him. He wondered what he should prioritize; food or power? He wondered when was the last time he had a normal lunch, of more than just bread and rice.

He wondered if his father had even noticed the lack of hot water. He wondered how Asher didn’t seem to care about eating a diet of only one food. He wondered how his dad was so good at just ignoring it all, never giving a care in the world for the problems that arose.

He wished he could do the same.


	10. The Sun, the Sea, and the Second Time Adriel Got Punched Within Two Weeks

(CW: Violence, mild blood and swearing)

“You two, come down here!” Mila shouted from the dinner table. Her slim hands gripped the laptop in front of her tightly, shaking the device excitedly.

Asher was the first to run down, with Adriel following right after. The latter’s 8-year old legs were to blame; he had only a fraction of his father’s height.

“What, what’s wrong?!” Asher exclaimed, looking around wildly.

“Mom, what’s up?” Adriel asked in a much quieter voice.

“I got accepted!” Mila all but screeched, crying tears of joy. She jumped up and thrusted the screen at their faces, beaming brightly. “That company invited me after seeing the show I was a part of”

Asher stumbled back at the sudden intrusion, quickly gaining composure. He scanned the email with a dropped jaw, before it slowly turned to a smile. “That’s amazing! It’s the one in Japan, right?”

“What else?” the mother smirked, patting herself on her back. “Seriously, this is the best opportunity I’ve ever gotten!”

“Good job, Mom” Adriel shyly smiled. He leaned forward on his tippy toes to read the words on the screen. “I liked that show a lot. It’s the one with the murderer, right?”

“Aha, oh yeah…” Mila awkwardly trailed off. 

She was then reminded of the fact that her 8-year old son had gotten attached to the thriller T.V show that she had written. Funny enough, Adriel seemed to understand the plotline perfectly, probably since his own mother was one of the writers. What an interesting hobby for such a young child to have…

“So the company invited you to join?” Adriel suddenly asked, looking over the email carefully. He squinted at the small writing. “Japan’s a long way from here”

“Yeah, it is” Mila responded.

It got quiet for a few seconds, as the gears turned in the male’s head. 

Mila turned to him with a smile. “Haven’t you ever wondered what Japan was like?”

“It seems nice,” Adriel shyly grinned. “Then are we moving?”

“Well, me and Mom have been thinking for a while” Asher ruffled the boy’s hair lovingly. “Japan’s a beautiful country. How would you like to live there from now on? Of course, we’ll plan carefully, and we’ll miss Singapore very much, and we’ll-”

“Sounds cool” Adriel interrupted casually. “Let’s move to Japan”

Asher blinked slowly. “Just like that? Aren’t you going to miss Singapore?”

“I don’t have friends to say goodbye to” the young boy shrugged. “And of course I’m gonna miss home. But we can make home wherever we go, as long as we’re together, right?”

The two adults stared at their son lovingly. He was so mature for such a young child; how had they been so blessed? Though Adriel was a bit shy, and didn’t talk as much as 8-year olds normally did, the parents couldn’t have been more grateful for someone so understanding.

Mila grinned. “Of course. Then, to Japan we go!”

////////////////////////////////////

“Hey Dad, can I stay at a friend’s house for the weekend?” Adriel quietly asked into his phone.

“Uh, sorry what’d you say?!” Asher screamed back from the other side. The sounds of chaos and rushing footsteps coming from the receiver made the words almost inaudible as the tan male cringed.

“I want to stay with a friend for a few days”  
“For the long weekend, right?!”  
“Yeah, I’ll be back on Monday”

“What about work?!” Asher loudly spoke over the sounds of falling papers. The bustling, disastrous staffroom that he was in was so loud he could barely register the reply.

“I got paid today. It’s on the coffee table. And the library’s closed for the long weekend” Adriel responded with a huff. “Is that all?”

“So, the money’s on the table right?!”  
“Yes, Dad. The money’s safe at home”  
“Okay! Have fun!”

With that, Adriel hung up before he had to listen to any more screaming. He hung his head down and began to pack a bag with some necessities.

His father didn’t even ask where he was going. Nor did he ask who he was staying with, or how he was going to get there. The man never did; it was always the younger who spent his time worrying about the other.

Sometimes, Adriel wondered if he took up any space in Asher’s mind at all. He wondered when they had become so distant, just like strangers. When he was younger, Asher would always dote and worry about who he hung out with. As annoying as younger-Adriel thought it was, he was starting to miss it now.

He wondered if he disappeared, would his father even notice?

He shook his head and sighed. Now wasn’t the time to get down; he was to spend the weekend relaxing at the beach. Granted, he probably wouldn’t be able to go swimming since he didn’t have a swimsuit, but just going outside in the sun would be fun enough.

Umehito had invited him on a spontaneous beach trip at his private summer home, along with the host club. The third-year kept that a secret from the club though. Maybe Adriel would surprise the hosts once he arrived?

Umehito had been wanting to do this for a while; After spending so long sick at home, he had missed the company of his club-mate. Which Adriel related to. And so it was set; a limo would be there to pick him up later today.

Adriel just hoped his father would take care of himself for the two days he was gone.  
/////////////////////////////////////

“Welcome, welcome!” Umehito exclaimed in his normal eccentric manner. The third-year was sitting on a black towel by the beach, protected by his cloak along with the dark umbrella shielding his head. He waved his hand forward, beckoning Adriel closer. “I trust the drive here was safe, yes? Sorry for not joining, but I got here yesterday”

“It was fine, Umehito” Adriel gave the leader a little smile. The hot sun beating down on his tan skin made him let out a sigh of relief; With summer approaching, the weather would only get warmer here on out.

Umehito grinned back, before it slowly fell into a more curious look. “Hey wait, your limbs…”

Oh, yeah. Adriel was wearing short sleeves. Sheepishly, the male raised a finger to his lips with a smile. “Only the hosts and a few other people know. Mind keeping this a secret?”

“Well of course!” the dark leader nodded vigorously. “No one else talks to me anyways…”

Adriel gave him an apologetic pat on the shoulder, sitting down on the same towel. The red-white striped t-shirt he wore ended halfway down where his arm socket was, just a bit lower than his biceps. Meanwhile his jean shorts ended mid-thigh, near the top of where his leg socket began. It was only the host club here, so he shouldn’t have a problem walking around like this, right?

“Oh, by the way, the hosts brought their guests” Umehito broke his train of thought.

“Ah…”  
“Sorry, I should've mentioned that earlier. You can borrow one of my cloaks if we run into them!”

“You just bring extras with you wherever you go?” Adriel deadpanned. Umehito nodded, pulling another black cloak out from...the inside of his own cloak.

“I carry them everywhere!”  
“Where did you even-”

“Anyways, the hosts are on the West side of the beach” the third-year cut him off. Standing up, he offered a hand to the shorter, who took it gratefully with a thank you. “How about we go pay them a visit?”

“Sounds good. I wanna walk around anyways”

Walking on sand with a prosthetic leg was always a challenge for Adriel, but it seemed like less of a struggle when Umehito was there with him. The trek across the beach was spent in comfortable conversation, in which the third-year randomly listed facts about the beach. Supposedly there was a cat-shaped cave that the Nekozawa's placed offerings at for worship every year. 

“And if you jump from the top into the sea, you’ll never be heard from again!” Umehito hissed, clawing his arms out menacingly.

“Because you’ll die?”  
“Well...yeah”  
“Isn’t that the case for every tall cliff?”

“Hey look, there’s Tamaki-kun!” Umehito pointed at the distant figure.

And nearby the blond stood the rest of the hosts, along with their guests. Carefully, Adriel draped the cloak over his shoulders so that it covered his entire body. It dragged a little on the ground since Umehito was taller, but the third-year didn’t seem to mind it.

In fact, Umehito was already a few paces ahead, silently stalking up behind the host club king. Adriel caught up quickly, standing right beside him as the dark leader placed a Beelzeneff-covered hand on Tamaki’s shoulder.

“Having fun?” Umehito chuckled eerily.

“AAAAAAHHAHAHAHH!” Tamaki screeched, jumping back with a shudder. He turned to Kyoya with tears in his eyes. “Mommy, why did we have to go to this beach?!”

“Rude” Adriel muttered under his breath.

“This was the closest private beach. And besides, Haruhi doesn’t have a passport, so she can’t come to any of ours” the bespectacled male simply responded. He looked over before his eyes widened slightly behind his glasses. “Adriel, you’re here too?”

“Yeah, hope you don’t mind” the tan male nodded. 

“Of course not!” Tamaki seemingly recharged again, moving on from his initial terror in a split second. He placed a hand on Adriel’s shoulder, glancing at the black cloak curiously. “Isn’t it hot under that cape, though?”

“I’m wearing short sleeves today. Don’t want them to see” Adriel explained, gesturing to the guests chatting amongst themselves a distance away. “Speaking of which, it’s getting loud. I’m gonna go now”

“Have fun”  
“See ya”  
The twins waved goodbye.

“Wait, my son come back!” Tamaki dramatically gasped as the tan male was already off on his way. Sighing, he turned back to the rest of the hosts. “Does he really hate crowds that much?”

“It’s not crowds, boss” Kaoru cut in with an irked glare. “He just hates loud noises”

“Wait, how do you know this?” Hikaru raised an eyebrow at his brother. He didn’t recall Adriel ever specifically mentioning a fear for loud noises at their sleepover…

Kaoru blinked, before turning off to the side. “I just do”

Well, that got weird. Mori glanced at Kaoru incredulously, before shaking his head with a sigh. Now wasn’t a good time to ask.

“Where did he go anyways?” Honey asked, looking around curiously. “It’s like he just disappeared”

Umehito eerily grinned, pointing at the cat-shaped cliff. “Probably that way”

“Oh yeah, I saw Haruhi walking there earlier too” Kyoya added while adjusting his glasses. “Isn’t that the Nekozawa’s cursed cliff?”

“Yes, that’s the one” Umehito responded. “Anyone who jumps from the top into the sea will never be heard from ever again!”

Hikaru blinked. Kaoru blinked. Tamaki blinked.

“Aaaaand, they’re off” Kyoya sighed, watching the idiot trio suddenly take off towards the cliff. They left behind a large cloud of sand, scattering it everywhere like rabid dogs. 

“Wow, they got there already!” Honey cheered, shielding his eyes with his hand. 

“Fifteen seconds flat” Mori grunted, looking down at his watch. 

“Impressive, that’s a new record” Kyoya smirked. “I wonder how Adriel and Haruhi are doing”

\----Meanwhile------

“This is pretty high” Haruhi noted, crouching over the edge of the cliff. “Would probably die if I fell off”

“Same. I don’t even know how to swim” Adriel commented from right beside her.

“Are you planning on going into the water at all today?” Haruhi asked, looking over at the boy.

“No, I don’t have a swimsuit”  
“Same! I guess I’ll just be chilling on the sand all day”  
“Sounds like a plan. Hope you don’t mind if I join in”

“Of course not, dude” she chuckled. “Beware though, sometimes the guests might come over to talk”

“It’s okay if there are only a few of them” Adriel gave her a smile. “It’s only when it gets super loud when I feel uncomfortable”

She nodded in understanding. The duo stared down at the rushing water below the cliff in a comfortable silence for a few seconds, mesmerized by the waves.

“Speaking of loud noises, do you hear that?” Haruhi asked, turning back. In the distance, the sounds of thundering footsteps drew closer.

Adriel stiffened. “Oh my god-”

“GET BAAAACK!” a mess of voices yelled. In a split second, Adriel was jerked back from the edge of the cliff by a pair of hands. He fell onto his ass ungracefully, black cloak pooling by his knees.

The same was done to Haruhi, who was dragged back by the twins. The idiot trio collapsed onto the ground beside them, panting heavily from the apparent mad-dash to the cliff.

“D-dangerous...I almost lost you two” Tamaki panted, wiping off a bead of sweat.

“Hikaru, get off me” Adriel deadpanned. The pink-haired twin stood up and helped the other to his feet.

“Whew, we just barely made it!” Hikaru patted himself on the back. “Who knows how dangerous this creepy cave is, especially with all those random things scattered around…”

“It’s not dangerous. Look,” Adriel pointed at the various props within the dark cave. There were some plastic skeletons, spider webs and swords planted around randomly. It almost looked like some kind of fake haunted-house with the amount of decorations there were. “Those skeletons are just made of plastic. Nothing to worry about”

“Skeletons…?” Tamaki stiffened, looking at the hand he was leaning on. 

The hand that currently rested on top of a fake human skull. He screeched, jumping back in fear. “Why are there skeletons here?!”

“I put up some decorations to liven up the cave a little bit. I hope it’s to your liking” Umehito suddenly appeared from behind them, making the small group turn around. “And I hope with this, I can establish a closer friendship with Tamaki-kun!”

What a polite thing to say. It’s too bad the blond idiot was still scared-shitless over Umehito appearing out of nowhere. Tamaki paled, before falling down onto his back comically. 

“Mommy...I wanna go home…”

\----Timeskip----

“Haru-chan, Adriel, wanna go clam hunting?” Honey waved them over with a beaming smile. Mori handed Adriel a clam-hunting set at the nod of his head. 

“Sure, but it doesn’t look like there are any…” Haruhi trailed off, before looking around in shock. “Woah, this place is loaded!”

“There’s so much seafood” Adriel’s eyes shined. He wondered if he could take some home with him to cook…

The four of them began to dig around at the clams scattered across the beach. At some point, the idiot trio and Kyoya showed up too to watch in amusement.

Kaoru noticed the tan male’s excitement immediately. With a laugh, he waved a scallop in front of his face. “Look, there are scallops here too. Do you want one?”

“Of course! Any food is good food” Adriel exclaimed happily. He quickly reached up to grab it, tossing it into his bucket. “Thanks, Kaoru”

His child-like awe didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the host club. The cute expression on his face was a stark opposite to the normal blank stare the hosts were used to. Instantly, Adriel was surrounded by the rest of the group, having food thrusted into his hands.

“My son look, a conch shell!”  
“Here, there’s an oyster!”  
“Octopus”  
“There are even abalones here”  
“Adriel, have some watermelon!”

“Alright, enough enough!” Adriel laughed, flushing red from the sudden attention. He just hoped the host club’s doting wouldn’t attract the attention of their nearby chatting guests.

Tamaki reached over to the side and grabbed a nearby crab. He held it up like a trophy, a proud smile on his face. “Tell me, isn’t this crab pretty crab-tivating?”

The entire host club, along with the guests, Umehito and Adriel stared at the blond blankly. Kyoya spoke up first with a pressing stare. “Puns are the lowest form of comedy”

“Aww, Mommy!” Tamaki complained loudly. He was about to continue his rant, when a centipede suddenly crawled out from underneath one of the crab’s legs.

It sent almost everyone around them running away screaming. The guests, Hikaru, Kaoru and Honey all shrieked before running off, some in fear and some in laughter. Their voices all came together into one, chaotic mess.

“CENTIPEDE!”

Adriel cringed at the sudden noise, covering his ears with his hands from underneath his cloak. Luckily, it wasn’t too loud, seeing as how there weren’t that many guests around them. The abrupt change in volume had just caught him off guard.

Everyone seemed to calm down when Haruhi picked up the centipede and threw it into the bushes. Only now, the guests began to crowd around them to admire her courage. Adriel wiped his clammy hand on the inside of his cloak, standing up to leave. He didn’t want to stay around for it to get louder.

“I’m gonna go to the cave” he muttered under his breath. Haruhi waved him goodbye before he was off on his way.

As the guests were busy fawning over Haruhi’s apparent bravery, the hosts stood off to the side.

“Hey, Boss!”  
“We just thought of the greatest game!”  
The twins sang mischievously.  
“Let’s figure out what Haruhi’s fear is!”

“What? You guys are the worst” Tamaki glared at the disapprovingly.

Kaoru walked off with the wave of his hand, smirking. “Ah, you’re right. I guess people only share their fears with those they’re close to”

Tamaki stiffened up, placing his hands on his hips determinedly. “How do you play?”

“Whoever finds her weakness by tomorrow evening wins” Hikaru responded with a smirk.

“And the winner gets these pictures of Haruhi from middle school” Kyoya suddenly joined in, flashing the photos around devilishly. At his words, the idiot trio suddenly got 100x more serious about their game.

“Ah, we’ll join in too!” Honey cheered, while Mori grunted in agreement. “Although, how did you even get those photos, Kyo-chan?”

“Dark web searching, mostly”  
“What?”  
“Nothing”

Before Honey could further question the puzzling answer, Tamaki cut in, saving Kyoya from an explanation.

“You know, sometimes I wonder about Adriel’s fear too” the blond mumbled, scratching his cheek. This caught everyone’s attention, as they stared at him curiously.

“Don’t we already know it? It’s loud noises, boss” Hikaru answered with a ‘duh’ tone.

“Yeah, but I wonder why he hates it so much” Tamaki turned around to look at the rest of the group. “I mean, I get that he might be shy, but it’s odd how he always disappears the second it gets loud”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of being shy,” Kyoya shook his head, surprising the small group. “Adriel probably just finds loud noises overwhelming, which is understandable”

“But still, to the point of leaving the moment it gets noisy?” Tamaki continued. “That’s fair enough, but I wonder if there might be a reason why he does that”

Only Honey managed to catch the slight clench in Mori’s jaw. He said nothing, out of respect for both his cousin and Adriel.

Surprisingly, Kyoya was the first to defend the tan male. “Well either way, I don’t think this is something Adriel should have to explain to us”

Hikaru elbowed Tamaki in the side. “Yeah, cool it boss!”

“If there’s a reason why, he’ll tell us eventually” Mori spoke, catching the eyes of the entire group.

“Wow...that’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak” Kaoru mumbled. Instantly, everyone deadpanned at the twin’s words. “You’re right, though”

“Well if Mori-senpai says so, then it’s gotta be true!” Tamaki grinned. “Alright then, let’s go find out Haruhi’s fear!”

\-----At the cat-shaped cave-----

“They say the members of the Nekozawa family are buried in the walls here” Hikaru eerily whispered, leading the small group through the dark cave. His twin, Haruhi, and a few other guests followed behind closely.

“Everynight, a mysterious boney figure would emerge from the dark and grab anyone who passes by” Kaoru continued, clawing his arms out menacingly.

“That sounds like bullshit” Haruhi sweat dropped as they walked deeper into the cave. She took another step forward when a sudden, skeletal hand grabbed her shoulder. “What the-”

“Eeeeeeek!” The guests screamed, running out of the cave in fear. As they disappeared into the distance, Haruhi shook the plastic hand off.

“Kaoru, what’re you doing?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Are you- were you even listening to the story?” Kaoru groaned, eye twitching.

“Well yeah, but I don’t really believe things until I see them” Haruhi shrugged. 

“Damnit, she’s too smart to believe our lies!” Kaoru loudly whispered to his brother.

“That story Nekozawa-senpai told us was too unrealistic!” Hikaru whispered back in disappointment. He let out a sigh, before turning to properly address Haruhi. “Alright, you caught us. We were lying”

“Wait really?” Haruhi tilted her head. She pointed deeper into the cave. “Then, who’s that over there?”

A dark figure emerged, fully cloaked in the shadows. Hikaru and Kaoru shrieked, jumping to their feet.

“SO THE LEGEND WAS TRUE AFTER ALL?!” Hikaru shouted, shaking nervously. 

“STAY BACK, MONSTER!” Kaoru waved his hands defensively.

“Wow, rude” Adriel huffed, pulling the dark cloak off his head. He emerged from the darkness into the light streaming into the cave. “I heard screaming earlier, what happened?”

“Oh, the guests got scared off from all the plastic skeletons” Haruhi casually responded. She turned to the twins and raised an eyebrow at their still-terrified expressions. “You two are acting weird, are you good?”

“I can’t believe it backfired on us…” Kaoru mumbled.  
“This is humiliating…” Hikaru groaned.

“Nice to see you too” Adriel grumbled childishly.

\-----Mission Failed. Second Trap: Fear of high places------

“Wow, look at how high you can climb here!” Honey chirped, pointing at the waves crashing below the cliff. “You can even climb up into the eyes of this cave”

“That’s a long way down,” Haruhi noted, looking down over the edge. “You would fall for like ten seconds before hitting the water”

“Eh, it’s not that far. I’ve seen higher” Adriel shrugged. 

Challenge accepted

“Takashi, what are you doing?” Adriel sweat dropped, looking over the edge. “This isn’t what I meant when I said I wanted to feel tall”

Mori was holding him simba-style, facing the water as though he was about to throw the tan male in. 

“Are you scared?” Mori asked, slightly amused.

“Do I have a reason to be?”  
“I could drop you right now”  
“With those guns? Doubt it”

There was a moment of silence, before Mori put Adriel back on the ground. He turned away and grunted, hiding the red tint on his cheeks. “Nevermind Satoshi; you have no filter”

Adriel chuckled. “I’m just saying~”

Mori was about to respond, when Haruhi cut in.

“You know, I’ve never been that scared of heights either. It’s never bothered me” she spoke, looming over the edge.

Mori and Honey sighed. At least it was fun whilst it lasted.

\------Mission failed. Third Trap; fear of the dark-----

“I can barely see anything in this cave,” Haruhi pointed out, squinting. The two scholarship-students and the twins moved deeper into the chasm, covered in the dark shadows.

“Same” Adriel added. He was already kind of blind; it was a miracle he hadn’t stumbled into something yet.

“Ow! Adriel, you stepped on my foot!” Kaoru whined.

Nevermind.

“How did you know it was me?”  
“It felt like metal!”  
“Oops, sorry. That must’ve hurt”

“Tell me about it” Hikaru whistled. He laughed over his brother’s misfortune. “How’s it feel to get hit by a metal limb?”

“Wanna find out?” Adriel smirked.

“...nevermind”  
“Oh relax, I won’t actually hit you. Not on purpose, at least”

“How thoughtful” Hikaru laughed. “Whatever. I’m sure- ow! You stepped on me!”

“Oh, oops”  
“You did that on pur-ow!”  
“Did I do it again?”  
“Gah, you crashed back into me!”  
“Sorry, Kaoru”  
“Ow!”  
“Where are we going?!”  
“I think I just hit a wall”  
“That was me, Adriel”  
“Oh, sorry Haruhi”

“Yeah, we should probably get out of here now” Haruhi pinched the bridge of her nose. “Before we end up injuring ourselves more”

“Agreed”  
“Please, let’s go”  
“This was a bust”

\------Mission failed. Fourth Trap; fear of sharp objects-----

“Is that a spear?” Haruhi stared straight at the metal weapon pointed at her and Adriel.

Mori continued to hold it menacingly, giving no reply. Already getting bored, Haruhi walked off to go to the bathroom. The tall third-year sighed in defeat, dropping his arm down.

“This thing looks sharp,” Adriel commented. He lifted his right hand and poked the top of the spear with his index finger. “Oh, ouch”

“Did you just...poke the spear to see how sharp it was?”  
“Yeah”  
“...You’re bleeding?”  
“Oops. Probably shouldn’t have done that”

Mori let out a stifled laugh. “Let’s go get a bandaid”

\------Mission failed. Fifth Trap; fear of small spaces-----

“Ahh! It’s too crowded in here!!” Honey wailed, jumping into Adriel’s arms.

“But it’s only the three of us” the tan male tilted his head. “Is it because this part of the cave is narrow?”

“Yeah, it’s scary!”  
“Then we can leave if you want”

“Yeah, I’m getting bored of exploring this cave anyways” Haruhi shrugged, leading the way out. “I’m gonna go walk along the beach. See you all later”

With that, she was off on her way. Adriel looked down at the blond clinging to his black cloak.

“Wanna leave now?”  
“Yes”

\------Mission failed-----

“The hosts sure are lively today” Adriel sat down at Kyoya’s table, underneath the coloured umbrella. “What’ve you guys been up to?”

“We’re trying to find out Haruhi’s fear” Kyoya didn’t bother to hide it. “Well, they are. I’ve just been sitting here all afternoon”

“That’s kind of a messed up game” Adriel frowned. “Trying to find out someone’s fear by literally scaring them”

“...I guess you’re right about that” Kyoya turned away, writing in his notebook. “Sorry, that was kind of uncalled for”

“Don’t apologize to me. Go talk to Haruhi” Adriel gave the bespectacled boy an encouraging smile. “Better yet, go tell the rest of the club to quit it before someone actually gets hurt”

“You don’t need to worry; the hosts would never hurt Haruhi” Kyoya flashed him a smile.

“No, I’m not talking about her” Adriel sweat dropped. “I mean the hosts are probably going to end up injuring themselves”

“...yeah, I can see that happening”  
“Go talk to them, Kyoya”

“Wanna come with me?” the bespectacled male gestured his head to where the twins and Tamaki were messing around.

“Hmm, I think I’m gonna go back to the cave. Maybe see where Umehito went” Adriel answered. With a wave, he was off back to the cat-shaped cliff. 

He arrived relatively quickly. Unfortunately, Umehito wasn’t there like he had expected. Adriel was about to turn back and re-unite with the hosts, when the sight of the sun setting caught his eye. The tan male walked to the edge and sat down, staring into the red-orange horizon.

The warm colours swirled with the grey clouds, tinting them pink and red all over. With the sounds of the waves crashing below, Adriel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He loved the smell of the sea.

“Um, you’re Adriel-kun, right?” a timid voice broke his thoughts. The boy opened an eye and glanced to the side, where the voice came from.

There were two girls there; he had recognized them as Haruhi’s guests. The one who spoke shifted back and forth, brunette hair falling off her shoulders. The second one was taller, and had long wavy locks of blonde cascading down her back. She seemed to look much more confident than her companion.

“That’s me” Adriel nodded a greeting. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ayaka, and this is Ena” the blonde introduced with a smile. “We saw you walking around earlier, and just wanted to say hello”

“Nice to meet you too” Adriel’s lips twitched upwards. He gestured towards the sunset. “Wanna watch with me?”

“Sure”  
“O-okay”

The trio took their seat down at the edge, talking quietly about their day. It was a comfortable conversation; the two girls seemed to understand Adriel’s quiet nature. A pleasant surprise for the tan male, since he knew he didn’t have the most flourishing reputation.

And their conversation was going so well, until it got rudely interrupted by an unpleasant force.

“Oh? Look, there are chicks here” a boisterous voice cut in. Three guys stood a bit behind them, confidently walking forward to join the young students. The one who spoke grabbed Ayaka by the wrist and grinned, chapped lips only inches away from hers. “Isn’t it boring for girls to be all quiet like this? How about we join in on your fun?”

“Yeah, let’s play together!” one of the other guys laughed, grabbing Ena’s shoulder. He was about to make another move, when Adriel cut in, irritated.

“Can you leave? This is a private beach” the tan male huffed, eye twitching. The three creeps only then noticed his presence. 

Scoffing, the first guy rolled his eyes. “We were just messing around. No need to take it so seriously, brat”

“What, jealous that your girlfriends would rather hang out with us?” the third guy taunted with a shit-eating smirk.

Adriel glanced behind the group of boys, before his lips twitched upwards. “Right now? No”

As if on cue, Haruhi appeared behind them with a bucket of sea urchins. Reeling back, she threw the contents of the bucket onto the group of older boys. The reaction was immediate; they screeched, jumping off of the girls they were holding.

“Stop pestering them!” Haruhi glared, holding the bucket in front of herself protectively.

Adriel could see the situation was about to get out of hand. Standing up quickly, he helped Ayaka and Ena to their feet and pushed them towards the exit of the cave.

“Go get the hosts; I’ll stay here with Haruhi” he pleaded, giving them a stern look. The two girls nodded, bidding ways with a rushed thank you. Ena and Ayaka scurried down out of the cave, off to go find the host club.

Which just left Haruhi, Adriel and the creeps. One of the older boys turned to the duo with a snarl, picking a stray sea urchin off his shirt. “What’s your problem?! We were just messing around, asshole”

“Find better hobbies” Adriel answered with a glare. “You look like you’re thirty. Don’t you have better things to do than bother teenage girls?”

“Yeah, she didn’t like it!” Haruhi scoffed. “So get out of here before we make you!”

“Yeah what, with those matchstick arms?” the third guy laughed, grabbing Haruhi’s wrists. “I bet I could snap these with-”

Adriel shrugged his cloak off and threw it over the third boy’s head. With his target being distracted and blinded, the tan male then kicked at his ankles, knocking the older boy to the ground.

The sudden attack was just enough for Haruhi to shake her wrists free. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough time for them to escape.

“You little brat!” the first boy snarled. Reeling back, he was about to land a punch on Haruhi’s face, when Adriel stepped in front of her last minute.

“HNGH!”

He fell onto his back, cradling the fleshy part of his face. He cringed at the feeling; it already felt disgustingly soft. His right eye was stinging in pain, feeling swollen shut. With both his eyes damaged, he could barely see anything at all.

“Adriel!” Haruhi cried. She was about to go help him up, when the first boy grabbed her by the collar. She kicked and scratched at the hands, but it was no use; her attempts were futile.

“Stop acting so tough. You’re like a little girl” the boy taunted. He walked to the edge of the cliff and dangled her over the crashing waves.

“Kids like you should enjoy a little swim!”

\----Meanwhile…------

“Tamaki, put the snake down”  
“But Mommy! This one’s a python; I’ve never seen one before!”

“Which is why you shouldn’t be holding it two inches from your face” Kyoya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Weren’t you taught not to play with wild animals?”

“Says you!” Tamaki snapped back. “Remember two chapters ago, when you had alligators running around your waterpark without a thought?”

“...touché” Kyoya glared. “Hikaru, Kaoru, make him put the snakes away”

“I am not touching that thing!” Hikaru cringed, backing away slowly from the reptile Tamaki was holding. “Kaoru, you do it!”

“Me?” Kaoru grimaced. “What if it bites me?”

“Wouldn’t you like that~”  
“What’s that supposed to mean, Kyoya?!”

Before their banter could continue, Ayaka and Ena came running to the group. Ena shouted, grabbing their attention. “Tamaki-sama! Haruhi and Adriel are in trouble!”

She pointed at the cliff, where the two figures could be seen surrounded by unknown trespassers. Without a moment of hesitation, Tamaki threw the snake down into his bucket and took off towards the cave. Kaoru, Kyoya and Hikaru were quick to follow, in that exact order.

The group made it there quickly: ten seconds flat. When Tamaki was just about to grab Haruhi, the older boy let go. She gasped as she fell off the cat-shaped cliff.

“Haruhi!” the blond yelled. With no hesitation, he threw himself off the edge of the cliff, following after her. Together, they crashed down into the water with a harsh, whipping noise.

Then, they disappeared into the dark-blue waves.

“Holy shit, I can’t believe that guy actually jumped in” one of the older boys whistled. He turned to Adriel, who was still on the ground, with a smirk. “How about you follow after them? Oh wait, look at those limbs. You can’t swim, can you?”

And just as he was about to grab Adriel’s shirt collar, something was thrown at the boy’s back. It slithered down into his swim trunks, before biting the tip of his-

“OW! What the hell?!” the boy screamed. He fell onto the floor and began to thrash around. “What did you throw at me?!”

“Take python, bitch” Hikaru glowered, arm still up from when he threw the animal. The twin turned to the two remaining boys with a glare. “I have more snakes in this bucket right here. Wanna play petting zoo?”

Said bucket was filled to the brim with other snakes, having been found by Tamaki earlier. Hikaru had grabbed it last-minute when they were running towards the cliff. The remaining boys winced, and were about to run off when Kaoru grabbed them by the ends of their shirts and jerked them back. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kaoru laughed. “We haven’t even started yet”

“Hold on, you two,” Kyoya commanded. The bespectacled teen kneeled in front of Adriel and frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m g-good” Adriel stammered, leaning back and forth. “You’re Kyoya, right?”

“Can you not see me?”  
“Not really”

“Move your hand,” Kyoya sternly commanded. Gently, he brushed the hand covering Adriel’s eye away. His eyes widened. “...you’re bleeding”

“It’s okay. Pain is just a feeling” Adriel dryly laughed. With his hand no longer holding his face, the blood seeping out of his eye trailed down his cheek in fat, blotchy drops.

Kyoya stared for a few moments in shock, before wryly chuckling. “Honey-senpai is rubbing off on you”

He slung Adriel's arm over his shoulder and helped the shorter male up. Turning to face the twins, Kyoya’s eyes gleamed as he darkly chuckled.

“Hikaru, Kaoru, go nuts”  
/////////////////////////////////////

After...dealing with the boys, the group of four made their way down to the beach. Honey and Mori had already urged the guests to leave, telling them that the host club was closed now. With that, only the host club and Adriel remained on the beach.

Tamaki had emerged with Haruhi from the ocean only a few moments ago, joining the group solemnly. He put Haruhi down and covered her with a towel.

“Adriel, you’re bleeding” Haruhi frowned.

“Nevermind me, you just got thrown into the ocean” Adriel sighed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I don’t need a doctor” Haruhi shrugged.

That was what finally ticked Tamaki off. Turning to her, he grabbed Haruhi by the shoulders and gave her a stern glare. “What were you thinking?! You aren’t a martial arts master like Honey or Mori-senpai, so why act like you could take them on? You’re a girl; how could you possibly be so foolish?!”

Adriel cringed at that.

“It doesn’t matter that I’m a girl, those creeps were harassing our guests!” Haruhi glowered back. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused, but nothing other than that. There wasn’t any time for me to go get more help. They were about to attack Adriel, too”

“Yeah, she was helping me” Adriel added, eyes narrowing at the blond. “You need to calm down”

“You’re not innocent either!” Tamaki then turned to the tan male with a similar glare. “Neither of you have martial arts experience. You were both reckless!”

“I was reckless, because I was defending myself?” Adriel bit back. The normally calm expression he wore was replaced with a sharp glower, making the blond step back in shock. “Hikaru and Kaoru don’t have any experience either, yet you’re not yelling at them even though they fought those creeps with their bare hands. Why is that?”

Tamaki’s eyes widened as his glare fell. “U-uh”

“Is it because they’re male, and Haruhi isn’t?”  
“Well-”  
“Is it because they’re able-bodied, and I’m not?”

Tamaki didn’t respond.

Adriel scoffed, before turning around and walking to the beach house in the distance. Though his expression could be seen anymore, the tightening of his fist was enough for the host club to tell. He was pissed.

“I’m gonna go find Umehito. Tamaki, don’t talk to me”

As he walked away, head hung low, Haruhi gave Tamaki a dark glare. She said nothing, before running off to catch up with the tan male.

The host club was silent for a few moments, before slowly turning to the still-silent Tamaki. Nothing was said, though their faces alone were enough to express their disapproval.

Hikaru broke the silence first. “Dick move, Tamaki. Dick move”


	11. Thunderstorms

“Mooooom, my feet hurt”

“Come on, I’ll get you ice cream later okay? Just after I find a shoe store” Mila laughed, tugging Adriel’s hand.

Together, they moved through the crowded mall with a slight struggle. Adriel was so tiny, he got practically squished at every corner. He winced, squeezing his mother’s hand tighter.

“Why couldn’t dad come?”

“I told you sweetie, he’s busy at work. Is everything okay?”

“The people here are scary. And tall” he whispered, speaking in his native tongue. It got him a few odd stares from the Japanese shoppers around him, but Adriel didn’t notice. 

Ever since they moved, just a few weeks ago, the foreign family was always the victim of staring when they went out in public. Mila brushed it off as a shock-factor, although Adriel couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable from the watchful eyes.

It didn’t help that Adriel could barely understand Japanese; he had only started lessons a month ago. He wasn’t exactly the quickest learner, although the boy was slowly starting to get the hang of it. Still, as they walked through the bustling mall, Adriel wished he could understand what the adults around him were saying.

“The people here are just regular old people, Adriel” Mila gave him a warm smile, replying in Malay. “They stare, and they whisper, and it sucks. But there’s no need to be afraid of what they think”

“Easy for you to say” Adriel huffed childishly. “You can understand what they’re saying!”

“Not that well” she sheepishly admitted. “But we’re both still learning, and that’s fine. And even if I didn’t know Japanese, I still wouldn’t care about what they said”

“Why?”

“Well, there’s only one of me, and I’m not going to change that for anything” Mila chuckled. “And if they have something to say about it, I guess I’ll just learn how to tune them out”

Adriel looked up at his mother with a frown. “How are you so brave? Everytime I try to do the same, I just get scared”

“Sweetie, I’m still scared even now” she responded. “But I’ve built up my resilience over the years. It’s silent, but stronger than anything else I know”

She looked back with a smile and placed a hand on his head. “And I know someday you’ll build up yours too. And you’ll be even stronger than me”

That day at the mall, Adriel gripped his mother’s hand tighter than he ever did.

///////////////////////////////

“Ow”

“Stop moving”

“But it hurts”

“Didn’t you say something about this earlier?” Kyoya sighed, adjusting the damp cotton pad he held against Adriel’s face. “Something like ‘pain is just a feeling’ or whatever”

“A really strong feeling” Adriel cringed. The bite of alcohol seeped into his cut, bringing a cold, stinging sensation to the entire right side of his face.

Luckily, the cut didn’t actually go into his eye. It only scratched the corner, done by one of the older boy’s fingernails during his punch. Though it was still enough for Adriel to be heavily disoriented; with both eyes damaged in some way, he could barely see two feet in front of him.

“Heh, that’s funny” Adriel weakly laughed, eyes glazing over. “Has your hair always looked so dome-like?”

“If that’s what you think, you should see the twins’ middle school photos” Kyoya snorted. “I have a picture on my laptop. Once you can see again, I’ll send it to you”

“Why do you have their middle school pictures?”

“Research”

“Is this what you keep writing in your little notebook?” Adriel chuckled. “I wonder what else is in that thing”

Kyoya smirked. “That’s for me to know, and for you to never find out about”

They rested in a comfortable silence for a while, as Kyoya continued to dab at the blood seeping out of Adriel’s cut. The dim bedroom was lit only by a stray candelabra on a nearby table, next to the bed they sat on. It shrouded the two in a warm, yellow light.

“How do you even know how to do this?” Adriel asked, gesturing to the hand dabbing at his eye. “You’re not a martial artist like Mitsukuni or Takashi, are you?”

“I told you, my father owns a medical company. It’s only expected of me to know some basics” Kyoya simply responded. The bespectacled male then dead panned. “Also, Tamaki injures himself far too often for me to not pick up on something”

“Injure himself?”

“Well, there was this time he lied down on a lightbulb. And that time he fell up the stairs. And that time he tried to open a can with a butcher’s knife. Oh, can’t forget when he cut his lip on an ice cube”

“How do you cut your lip on an ice cube?”

“With Tamaki, anything’s possible”

“I don’t doubt that for a second” Adriel laughed. “He’s really careless, isn’t he?”

Kyoya didn’t even bother denying it. “Yeah, pretty much”

“Just like earlier, down at the beach” Adriel’s smile fell. “I don’t know what I expected from him, but it at least wasn’t that”

The air suddenly grew colder. Kyoya was silent as Adriel began to rant. “I’ve dealt with people underestimating me my entire life, but Tamaki? Kind of expected better from him. Don’t know why, though”

“As I’ve said, he can be careless,” Kyoya answered. “What Tamaki said was really stupid, even for him”

“Wow, I didn’t think you would agree with me” Adriel raised an eyebrow. He took the cotton pad and moved Kyoya’s hand away, holding it up himself. “What, are you gonna try and defend him now? Try to change my mind?”

“Trust me, I’m not defending what he said” Kyoya sighed. “But I don’t think he had bad intentions”

“He literally yelled at me and Haruhi for being attacked” Adriel huffed. “How am I not supposed to take that in a bad way?”

“I’m not telling you to not be upset. I would be too” the bespectacled male answered, sitting up. “Tamaki...for someone so social, he’s really shit at talking about how he feels”

It was silent for a few seconds, as Adriel digested the words. The little light from the candelabra shook as wind whipped against the window.

Normally Adriel loved the sound of wind. Yet in that moment, he could barely even hear it.

“Do you think Tamaki’s right? That I’m weak?” Adriel asked, staring blindly at the white bedsheets.

“Not even Tamaki thinks you’re weak”

“But-”

“As I’ve said, he’s really bad at talking about how he feels” Kyoya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He’s so good at communicating, but never when it matters…”

“And how do you know this?” Adriel tilted his head, taking the cotton pad off. From the bleary corners of his vision, he could see the red blood drying brown.

“I’m his best friend. I know everything”

“That...sounds so ominous”

“Exactly”

“Who knew Mommy was so caring?” Adriel laughed, before suddenly grimacing. He quickly moved his hand up to catch the blood seeping out of his cut. “Ow, that hurt”

“Did it open up again?”

“I don’t know, did it?”

“Mommy’s gonna need a long, long nap after this” Kyoya’s eyebrow twitched. “And an entire duffle bag of aspirin”

//////////////////////////////////

“2, 3, 4 weeks later, goes bankrupt and homeless,” Adriels eye twitched. “Hikaru, your turn”

“4, 5, 6...5 years later, suffers from an automobile accident and breaks wrist” Hikaru dead panned, moving his piece across the game board. “What the fresh hell?”

“12 years later, company goes bankrupt, reduced to a janitor working at a commoners mall” Kyoya read his card aloud. “That’s so scary, it’s not even funny”

“10 years later, height decreases by 2.5 cm” Honey cried, rolling the dice. “No, I can’t lose any more inches!”

“You never had any to begin with, Honey-senpai” Kaoru snickered, before getting elbowed by the tiny blond. The orange-haired twin looked over at Tamaki sulking in the corner with a frown. “Are you not playing, boss? I’ll go for you”

As Kaoru rolled the dice, everyone stared silently in anticipation. Picking up the assigned card, the mischievous male read it aloud. “Currently being hated by friends. Massively depressed”

“Fitting” Adriel snickered under his breath. 

“Hey Boss, didn’t you say you were gonna walk along the beach with Haruhi earlier?” Hikaru asked in a taunting tone. Tamaki didn’t make a move from his crouched position in the corner.

“Yeah, you even brought a white dress and everything” Kaoru shrugged. “Then again, it looks pretty dark out there anyways”

“Ah, Tamaki-kun likes white dresses?” Umehito suddenly appeared beside the blond, placing a hand on his shoulder. Tamaki finally snapped out of his trance, screeching louder than humanly possible.

“What the hell is up with this haunted mansion?!” Tamaki cried. “And what the hell’s up with this subtly unpleasant life game with oddly realistic predictions?!”

Adriel chuckled behind his palm at Tamaki’s fear. From behind him, the wind whipping against the window grew louder, shaking the glass panes. The few candles in the lobby they sat in shook with the force of the wind, shimmering yellow light across the dark, shadowy walls.

“Nekozawa-senpai invited us to his vacation home, remember?” Kyoya answered the blond with a glint in his glasses. “It’d be rude to decline, no? But most importantly, the offer was free”

“Thanks by the way, Umehito” Adriel patted the dark third-year on his back. “For the free stay, I mean”

“Of course! I wouldn’t charge you money for a sleepover” the dark leader grinned, before moving his own piece across the game board. “Huh, in 2...3...4 minutes, I’ll be blinded by a bright light. That’s impossible though, the light switches aren’t working”

“Speaking of which, why doesn’t this vacation home have any electricity?!” Tamaki exclaimed, sulking. “Isn’t it dangerous to have this giant mansion be so dark?!”

“I’m sure danger isn’t a problem, since clearly Haruhi and I don’t give a damn about our safety” Adriel huffed. “You know, being ‘too reckless’ and all”

Tamaki paused, before looking uncomfortably to the side. Knowing that he won, Adriel internally smirked.

What, he was allowed to be petty sometimes too, right?

“That one was good”

“Thanks, Takashi”

Umehito picked up the candle on the coffee table and chuckled eerily. “Staying in the candlelight is good for the soul. After a day of being damaged by the light, one can only be themselves in the darkness…”

Standing up, the dark leader appeared in front of Tamaki with a wide grin. “I think tonight you’ll find your solace in the dark-”

Suddenly, the chandelier above lit up again. Umehito shrieked in pain at the abrupt light, before dashing off out the doors into the hallway. 

As he ran out the door, Haruhi stepped into the room with a curious look. The host club and Adriel glanced over at her.

“The breaker was down, so I went into the basement to turn it back on” she commented. “The lights are working now, so yay?”

The host club nodded, thanking her bravery. With the lights on, they finally got a good look around them, specifically at Haruhi’s outfit.

“Haruhi, those clothes…” Kaoru trailed off with wide eyes. “Never thought I would see you in a pink dress”

“Oh, my dad packed me this. He always does this whenever I go somewhere” she sighed, before shaking her head. “Eh, I don’t really mind though”

It was silent for a few seconds as they stared, before the twins and Honey loudly exclaimed their approval in unison. “Good job Haruhi’s dad!”

Adriel smiled, adjusting the bandage close to his eye. “I would compliment you, but I’m super blind right now”

“Can you not see me?”

“Honestly, no”

“Right, your eye got injured” Haruhi sighed, taking a seat on a nearby chair. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Okay enough. How about you?” Adriel responded with a frown. “Did your wounds heal?”

“More importantly, why are you walking around with bare feet?” Hikaru deadpanned. 

“And your hair’s all messed up” Kaoru pointed out.

“Gee thanks, you two” Haruhi’s eye twitched in annoyance. “What, are you gonna whip out a hairbrush or something?”

“Nah, I can fix it without one!” Kaoru grinned, popping up behind her. He stood behind the chair and began to comb his hands through Haruhi’s hair. “Here, let me straighten it out”

“And I’ll get you some slippers,” Hikaru added, dropping to one knee. He pulled out a pair of black shoes, slipping them onto her feet. “There we go”

Tamaki made a really weird noise, prompting everyone to stare at him curiously. The blond had red blood seeping out of his nose, dripping onto the floor grossly.

“Nosebleed” Mori oh-so-helpfully pointed out.

Suddenly Tamaki snapped out of it, covering his nose with a red face in an attempt to hide both the blood and his blush. “Gah, don’t look at me!”

“Fine by me” Adriel gave him a blank stare, before turning his head. “Weirdo”

“What a perv” Hikaru whispered not-so-quietly.

“Yeah, we better get out of here” Kaoru taunted, nudging his brother with his elbow.

“Ahhh, I’m not a perv! I’m just-”

“Karate-chop!”

Honey slammed his hand against the back of Tamaki’s neck, knocking the second-year out cold. He fell to the ground into a pool of his own blood, twitching profoundly.

Honey frowned. “Darn, it didn’t work!”

“What were you even trying to do?” Adriel tilted his head.

“I tried to get the bleeding to stop! But it didn’t work?”

“Mitskuni, I don’t think you get wounds to stop by karate-chopping them…”

//////////////////////////////////////////////

“Adriel, where are you going?” Hikaru asked with a raised brow. The group was now sitting by the vacation home’s dinner table, ready for supper.

Adriel stood up and opened the door to the hallway, turning back to the host club with a small smile. “I’m gonna go check up on Umehito. Not that hungry anyways”

“Are you sure? You were so excited about the seafood earlier” Honey pointed out worriedly.

Adriel gave him a wry smile back. “I think I lost my appetite. Have fun without me”

With that, the brunet left the dining hall, shutting the large door behind him. The host club stared silently at where he once stood, before everyone turned their eyes to Tamaki.

Having six people stare at him at once was kind of unsettling. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat. “Well, let’s eat now, okay?”

The atmosphere, though still tense, lightened a little.

“Here Haru-chan, we got some sushi for you!” Honey chirped, pointing at the food on the table. “This is your favourite, right?”

“Yeah, this looks pretty good” Haruhi smiled.

Tamaki narrowed his eyes childishly at the food. With an evil grin, he reached over and picked up a piece of sushi. “Well if that’s the case…”

The blond then rapidly grabbed as much sushi as he could, shoving it all into his mouth ungracefully. After only five seconds, all the food was gone. Tamaki sighed in content, a petty grin on his lips. “Ah, that was delicious!”

There was no more sushi left for Haruhi to try. 

Everyone either stared curiously or glared at him. Haruhi was part of the latter.

“Here Tamaki,” she turned to him, prompting the blond to look up. Haruhi held a crab out to him. “Have some crab too, it’s delicious”

“Really?” Tamaki took it, before his eyes widened. He tipped it over, looking inside the shell. “...it’s empty?”

Awkwardly, he tried to reach over and take another piece of crab. The pile was sitting where Haruhi was, right in front of her. Tamaki was just about to grab another crab, when the first-year suddenly stabbed the table with an empty crab claw.

Jerking back in fear, Tamaki’s eyes widened. He then proceeded to try again, only for Haruhi to keep blocking him off by unceremoniously stabbing the table wherever his hand went. She did this with a blank face, munching away at her food.

The rest of the host club sweat dropped at the exchange.

“Even Haruhi’s petty when she wants to be” Hikaru snickered.

“A commoner's love for food exceeds all bounds” Kyoya added, watching with an amused smirk.

“Oh come on Haruhi, you’re acting like the twins!” Tamaki jeered, loudly yelling in her ear.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t talking to me?” was her only reply.

Tamaki slammed his hands down on the table in defeat. Knowing he was getting nowhere, the blond let out an irritated sigh.

“Fine. Seeing as how you’re not going to apologize, I’m going to bed!” Tamaki yelled. He stood up, and was about to be escorted to his room by a Nekozawa servant, when the blond took one look down the shadowy hallway. It was so dark, he couldn’t even see past the first 20 feet. Turning back around, he pulled the puppy-dog eyes move on Kyoya. “Mommy?...”

“Fine, fine” Kyoya’s eye twitched. “Excuse me everyone, I have a baby to comfort”

With that, the host club king and the sleep-deprived vice president bid their adeius, walking through the dim hallway in silence. The door shut behind them with a quiet creak, before clicking eerily.

The silence was different; both seemed to be on the verge of saying something, yet neither wanted to make the first move. After what felt like much too long, Tamaki cracked first.

“It’s, uh, really dark” he nervously chuckled. 

Silence.

“Haruhi and Adriel were really petty, weren’t they?”

No reply.

“Kyoya?”

“Tamaki, you’ve gotta stop doing this every time you feel worried” Kyoya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know it’s bad when even I call you out on it”

Tamaki’s eyes widened. “What are you-”

“We’re here” was Kyoya’s only reply. Stopping, the bespectacled male gestured at the doors to Tamaki’s room. 

“Oh, thanks…” the blond weakly responded. He walked forward and grabbed the golden handles of the door, opening it softly. He sent a glance back at Kyoya, a frown of his normally upturned lips.

Kyoya was already walking away, not sparing a glance behind him. “I’ll be in my room”

Then, he disappeared down the hall.

Tamaki stared at where Kyoya once stood for a long, long time. His feet didn’t move, staying planted firmly on the smooth tiles of the ground.

Then, the idiot realized something.

“Wait, I need lotion for my sunburns!”

Tamaki then took off, with no way of telling where he was going, through the shadowy, dark halls.

\------Meanwhile…---------

“Finally, I found you” Adriel breathed a sigh of relief. He slouched down onto the sofa where Umehito was sitting, exasperated. “Why does this mansion have so many rooms?”

“Oh, Adriel?” the third-year tilted his head quizzically. “What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you go eat dinner with the hosts?”

“I lost my appetite” Adriel grimaced, running a hand over the bandage by the side of his head. “Wanted to check up on you, too. Are you okay?”

“There’s no need to do that, I’m fine!” Umehito bashfully grinned, a bit embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his cloaked neck with a shaky smile. “Trust me, this happens a lot”

“Yeah, but you like, just recovered from the last time you spent too long in the light”

“True… but don’t worry, I’m okay!”

“If you say so” Adriel frowned. 

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, chilling around the lounge without a care. The sounds of wind picking up outside rattled the windows, creating a quiet whipping sound.

“You lost your appetite, right?” Umehito suddenly spoke up. “After what you told me today, I don’t doubt it. Sorry”

“Why are you apologizing?” Adriel raised an eyebrow. “You couldn’t do anything to stop those creeps from wandering onto the beach”

“Well, this is the first time we’ve ever hung out outside of school” Umehito sighed, resting his head against his palm. “And you just so happened to end up getting punched in the face today. Am I just unlucky or something?”

“Bro, it’s fine” Adriel turned to the dark leader. “I mean, it’s not the first time I’ve ever gotten punched, so if that makes you feel better?”

“Wait wha-”

“Anyways, it’s not your fault Umehito” the tan male quickly reassured with a wave. “I’m just glad the twins kicked those boy’s asses”

“Me too. Are you sure you don’t need me to call a medic?” Umehito asked pleadingly. 

Adriel grimaced. If he was brought to the hospital, who knows how much medical fees would cost him? He already had food and electricity to worry about. “It’s okay, I’m sure I’ll be fine by tomorrow”

“Come to think of it, what exactly happened when those trespassers showed up?” the dark leader asked, tilting his head. “I know you and Fujioka got attacked, right?”

“Yeah. One of the boys grabbed Haruhi and tried to snap his wrists, so I…” Adriel trailed off, recalling the event. It took him a moment to remember, before his eyes widened slightly. “Oh, your cloak”

“My cloak?”

“I threw it over the boy’s head to distract him, before going for his ankles”

“My, how brave!”

“Yeah, but then I just left it there” Adriel sighed, standing up. He stretched his arms over his head, letting out a deep breath. “It’s still by the cave. I’m gonna go back and grab it for you”

“Wha- it’s fine! You can always get it back tomorrow” Umehito argued with an urging tone. “Besides, I can always get another one”

“It’ll be okay” Adriel gave him a small smile. “Also, I’m sure by tomorrow, the wind would have pushed it far away. Best I go now than later”

“Well, okay…” the third-year frowned, brow creasing. “Just make sure you get there and back safe, okay? And go quickly; I think the wind might pick up soon”

“See ya, Umehito” Adriel gave him a little wave, before leaving the lounge. 

Adriel made his way through the dark halls, before realizing that he had made a bit of a mistake. With both eyes damaged, he was already kind of blind. The lack of light in the mansion only made his search for the exit harder.

Adriel sighed under his breath, grabbing onto the wall to guide him. He was walking at a snail’s pace, slowly putting one foot over the other. He kind of regretted not asking for help, but at this point it was too late to try finding Umehito again. He would probably just get even more lost.

‘One...two...three… okay, now there should be a turn…’

“Adriel?”

Just who he didn’t want to run into.

“Hi Tamaki” Adriel squinted. “Fancy running into you here”

“Why are you just walking around on your own?” the blond furrowed his eyebrows. Tamaki shoved his hands into his pockets, eying the tan male up and down with a frown. “It’s dangerous, venturing around this mansion by yourself”

“What, are you gonna yell at me again?” Adriel huffed.

The reaction was imminent. Tamaki jumped back with a glare, pointing dramatically. “Why are you still going on about that?! And you haven’t apologized either!”

“I’m not apologizing to you” Adriel blindly glared back. He took a few more steps forward, brushing shoulders with the blond as he walked by. “Forget it, I’m going”

Just like that, Tamaki came down from his idiot mode. He turned quickly, grabbing the tan male’s shoulder. “Wait, it’s dangerous!”

“I thought you weren’t talking to me?”

“Well, I don’t want you getting hurt!”

“Do you think I’m stupid enough to injure myself? Because I’m disabled?” Adriel bit back.

The words from earlier had been bothering him all evening. He couldn’t forget the way Tamaki hesitated in his response; that off-guard, frozen expression.

He hated it. He’d been stared at like that all his life. 

Countless others, with the same passive-aggressive intentions had stared at him as though he was just a mere child. He wanted to scream at them, to tell them that he could make his own decisions. That he was strong too.

“Enough, I’m going” Adriel sighed, walking forward. He just wanted to go home at this point.

Until a hand tugged at his wrist.

“I don’t think you’re weak” Tamaki spoke, eyes focused. “Or stupid. Or foolish. Or reckless”

Silence between them.

Adriel slowly turned his head back, eyes casted downwards. “Then why did you say so?”

“Because, I-I was...”

“You were?...”

“I was…”

“Tamaki?”

“I was worried. I’m worried”

Adriel stared back. He echoed. “Worried” 

Suddenly, Kyoya’s words from earlier made so much sense.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you, but your question caught me off guard” Tamaki explained quietly. “That’s why I hesitated. I don’t think you or Haruhi are weak”

“Then why did you say so? You haven’t answered me”

“Well, I guess I hoped you would understand my intentions?”

Adriel dead panned. “Tamaki, I don’t know who needs to tell you this, but yelling at people is not how you express concern”

“It isn’t?” Tamaki dumbly tilted his head.

“Wha- why do you think getting angry shows you’re worried?”

“I don’t know?! That’s how I show it!”

“Who taught you that?”

“I mean, my grandmother does it a lot,” Tamaki whimpered. He shakily gulped. “Isn’t that how I know she cares?”

Adriel paused, staring at the blurry figure of the blond, deep in thought. Never did he ever think he would feel protective over Tamaki, yet in that moment it struck him like a truck. 

“Kyoya was right”

“Huh?”

“Tamaki, you can’t expect people to take your yelling as care” Adriel softly frowned. “You called me and Haruhi weak. How are we supposed to interpret that as anything but insults?”

“I’m…”

“Your grandmother’s wrong for yelling at you. You don’t have to be the same”

“I’m,” Tamaki stammered. He sighed, dipping his head down. “I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re weak”

“I’m sorry too. For worrying you” Adriel admitted, giving the blond a little smile. “And to be fair, I was kind of getting my ass handed to me by those creeps”

“That doesn’t make you weak!” Tamaki protested. “You know, letting people help you doesn’t mean you’re anything less”

“Really?” Adriel chuckled behind his palm. “Then how about you help me find the exit to this mansion?”

“You’re leaving?”

“I’m just gonna go to the beach. I left something there”

“Alright, I’ll show you to the exit then!” Tamaki sprang back up with a cheery smile. Any previous negativity he held was brushed away as the blond regained his old energy. He grasped Adriel’s hand and began to walk, shoes clacking against the smooth tiles of the halls. “Once you’re outside though, you’re on your own. I am not going out there!”

“What, scared?” Adriel smirked.

“Who wouldn’t be? It’s so fudge-nuggetingly windy out there!” Tamaki argued back with a shiver.

“...what?”

“Oh, do you want me to repeat-”

“Tamaki, please just say fuck”

“B-but it’s a b-bad word!”

“You’re sixteen years old. No one is watching. You can say fuck”

“F-fff-fu-f…”

“Go on. I believe in you”

“F-ff-found it!” Tamaki suddenly cheered, opening the door in front of them. As soon as he opened the door, a big gust of wind rushed inside, swooshing their hair back. Sounds of whipping and spiraling air breezes filled their ears, steadily growing louder. It wasn’t totally unbearable, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant either.

Tamaki grimaced, turning to Adriel with a frown. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Adriel held a hand in front of his eyes, shielding them from the rushing wind. “Yeah, I’ll be back soon anyways”

“Still, is there anything I can do to help you?” the blond furrowed his brows in concern. He didn’t want to go out there either, but it didn’t sit right with him to have Adriel walking through such strong winds.

“Go find Haruhi and apologize to her too” was Adriel’s only reply. He gave Tamaki a reassuring smile, before exiting the mansion, taking a step onto the stone pathway leading to the beach.

Just like that, he was gone.

One foot after the other, he repeated to himself. Adriel slowly made his way down to the sandy beach, shielding his eyes.

It was harder than he thought. Already being kind of blind was a problem, but combined with the sand whizzing straight up into his face, and the roaring winds around him, Adriel could barely stand up.

“You know, letting people help you doesn’t mean you’re anything less” Tamaki’s words rang in his ears. For a moment, Adriel stopped and turned back to the mansion.

Then, he shook his head and sighed. He was going to do this on his own.

The sand swirled around him, flying up from the gusts of air. It scratched his skin, biting at every exposed surface of his body. The tan male gritted his teeth as he kept walking. He could now see the blurry outline of the cave. He was almost there.

Then, he felt a drop of rain against his head.

“No…”

It was only a matter of seconds before it picked up, seeping cold rainwater into his clothes. A few more seconds passed as the pittering turned into showering. He began to shiver, wet hair sticking to the sides of his face. With the wind, the rain drops felt like bullets.

That wasn’t his main concern, though. He was using his prosthetics. They weren’t waterproof.

They were his only pair.

Fuck the cloak, he was going back.

Adriel turned right back around and walked as fast as he could. Yet, it seemed as though the wind was going against him no matter where he was facing. He sucked in a breath, pushing forwards despite the stinging rain whipping against his body.

Walking turned to trotting, which then turned to running, then to full-on sprinting. Sprinting half-blind, with a prosthetic leg, on the uneven sand, through the pitch-black night, with wind, sand and rain whipping you in the face. Adriel felt like he was in hell.

“Almost there...hurry up… hurry up...hurry up!”

Then, when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. 

//////////////////////////////////////

“Turn’s out, Boss is an S&M pervert” Hikaru dead panned, watching the scene in front of him with a quirked brow.

“Those kinds are the worst” Kaoru not-so-quietly whispered back. 

“T-that’s not true!” Tamaki shouted back, red faced. “I was just comforting her, you know?! From the lightning!”

“S&M?” Haruhi narrowed her eyes, staring incredulously at the blond. “Really, Tamaki?”

“Don’t look at me like that Haruhi!”

“Where did you even get the blind fold?”

“Uh…”

“Sorry to change the subject, but have any of you seen Adriel?” Honey asked, looking around the dark bedroom. “He’s been on his own for a while now, don’t you think?”

“I wonder what he’s doing” Kyoya added, a finger against his chin. “We asked Nekozawa earlier, but he got scared off by the lightning before we got an answer”

“Should we look for him? He could’ve gotten lost” Mori asked, looking back at the dark hallways. Even without visual impairment, the mansion was already easy to get lost in.

Tamaki froze. “Oh, fuck”

“Tama-chan, that’s a bad word-”

“He’s outside!”

It was silent for a couple seconds, before the club began to shower Tamaki with questions. 

“Why is he outside?!” Haruhi exclaimed.

“How do you know this?!” Hikaru interrogated.

“When did he leave?” Mori sternly asked.

But no one expected Kaoru to be the loudest.

“Why did you just let him go outside in the dark by himself?!” the ginger-haired male shouted, making everyone stop to turn to him. Rarely did Kaoru ever yell.

“He insisted on it! He was looking for something he left at the beach earlier” Tamaki responded shakily. “Do you think he’ll be able to make it back?”

“But his prosthetics aren’t waterproof” Haruhi reminded the group with tightly-pressed lips. “We should go find-”

A set of footsteps running down the hall away from them made everyone turn to the door. Kaoru was nowhere to be found, already sprinting to the beach ahead of the rest.

Not because he knew Adriel’s prosthetics weren’t waterproof. Not because Adriel wouldn’t be able to get back. Although, those reasons made him run even faster.

Because out of everyone, Kaoru knew how deep Adriel’s fear of loud noises was. He saw it, at the sleepover. When the explosions in the movie rang out, and Adriel froze. They were just bad sound effects coming out of a speaker, yet the tan male looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

And now Adriel was outside in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Kaoru ran faster.


	12. Mother, Mother

(TW: Graphic depictions of mall bombings, explosions, violence, alcoholism)

The beating of his heart could’ve been mistaken for thundering footsteps as he raged through the falling rain. All around him, dripping down his neck, into his shoes, coating him in a bitter shower of cold water that made him gasp.

Adriel could barely see past his fingertips, whether it was from the dark, his injury or the pouring rain around him. His matted hair stuck to his forehead, clothes pinned on to his slick skin. And despite the sheer chill of the water, he felt like he was on fire.

Because rain this heavy was always followed with worse things yet to come.

BOOM

Behind him. Adriel gasped, turning back with eyes wide. For a moment, everything flashed white. And in the next, it was pitch black once more. He blinked hard, ears still ringing from the piercing roar of the lightning strike.

It was so close to him. And it would only get closer.

‘One foot after the other. Run, run, run…’

A second strike came only a hundred meters away. Adriel could still see the lingering figure of the volt, dancing in the air like a blinding-white tree. And then the horrid sound of booming followed just a blink later, filling his ears with that terrifying, rattling feeling.

Adriel cringed, holding his hands over his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut, as if that would protect him from the hell that he had dragged himself into. Somehow, he knew that it would make no difference; that he was only prolonging the suffering to be brought down on him. Yet he couldn’t bear to hear or see it any longer.

He took a step forward on his right leg, before yelping as his ankle rolled. He fell onto the wet, sludgy sand with a hard thump, slamming his hands down in front of him. Adriel wanted to just curl up underneath the sand and disappear, escaping from the thunderous explosions sounding off around him. 

Another one to his right. Then one in the distance. Then one slamming down into the ocean. And following right after, the deafening clap of thunder. Adriel clenched his fists until they physically hurt, sucking his teeth to avoid screaming aloud.

He was cold, yet burning. Heart thumping frantically, like a broken metronome. Was he even breathing anymore? He couldn’t tell. The wet, sloppy sand seeped into his already ruined clothes, feeling disgustingly gritty against his skin. And all the while, his prosthetics were beginning to feel stiff.

It was only a matter of time before they would rust. And even then, would they survive the layers of grime built on them today? Adriel let out a shaky gasp, before slamming his palm into the ground.

‘Up, get up… get uP!’

With a cry of pain, he somehow got to his knees again. The mansion was less than a hundred metres away. He just had to make it there.

And just as he staggered forward, another strike of lightning boomed down from the dark sky. The worst one yet.

BOOM

Right beside him, to his left.

An explosion. 

A blinding flash of light, and the thunderous howl that followed straight after.

Only a few metres away from him. The ground steamed with heat, reaching his already burning cheeks. 

And just like that, he could see it now. 

That day, many years ago. A day just like this one, filled with screams and roars and cries of pain. That day, filled with explosions and gunshots and frantic confusion and fear.

With the boom of thunder, Adriel was brought back to that day.

/////////////////////////

Ah, it was that day, wasn’t it?

That day at the mall with his mother. After arriving in Japan only a few weeks ago, Mila had already grown to love the Japanese take on street fashion. With her son in hand, she made her way through the bustling mall crowds.

Adriel had complained about his feet hurting, to which she only laughed at. Sparing him some mercy, they decided to stop for a break and get some ice cream. The 8-year old’s favourite was red bean.

They were having such an innocent conversation. In between bites of the sweet dessert, Adriel discussed his hopes for learning the Japanese language. He was only on the basics at the time, but was learning quickly, to which Mila expressed pride over.

They were sitting by the fountain in the middle of the mall, glass ceiling far above them. Dogs ran back and forth, followed by loud chatter and the laughs of children. Children, just like Adriel. He watched for a moment, wondering if perhaps he could join in.

Then the first explosion went off.

No one could see it coming. A little green shell rolled across the smooth tiles, being kicked a couple times by passing shoppers. When it went off, the unfortunate man who was the closest flew upwards into the air, flipping back like a ragdoll. And as that man spun around in the air, Adriel could see fountains of red spraying from where his arm once was.

Then came yelling. The once upbeat laughter of the crowds was replaced by frantic screams in a language Adriel couldn’t understand. Mila jumped up first and grabbed his hand, following the rushed push of the crowds towards the exit.

Adriel, who didn’t even know that poor man was dead, gripped her hand tighter. 

Another explosion. A group of teenagers were the target this time. Their faces fell in slow motion; wide eyes, parted lips and silent cries. Adriel memorized them.

The crowds around him pushed harder. At this point, Adriel was barely walking on his own. The hands desperately shoving him forwards were enough to keep him moving. 

Mila turned back, eyes wide with an emotion she barely ever wore. She took a hard left, jerking Adriel to the side. Right where they were standing before, another explosion went off.

The yelling grew louder, ringing like the buzz of an alarm clock. It was deafening, to the point where he wanted to let go and cover his ears. But Adriel kept his hold on his mother’s hand tight.

Then the people in black suits showed up. The ones who were throwing those little green shells, with gloves and goggles and masks that looked like bee stingers. Guns were strapped to some of their backs, though a few of them were holding theirs, rapidly firing into the crowd. Shouting unfamiliar words in deep, distorted voices that didn’t sound human. 

The second Mila saw then, she took another turn, violently jerking Adriel behind her. She sprinted as hard as she could, fist clenching painfully around the younger boy’s wrist.

Explosions. Gunshots whizzing right past his face. Splatters of red, painting his white shoes crimson. Whose blood was it? Did it belong to the children that he saw earlier? The loud, gossiping shoppers who turned into fearful, frozen faces? The dogs, who were howling around him, running without leashes?

Where was his mom again?

“Mom!” Adriel cried, over the booming of another explosion. “What’s going on?”

She didn’t turn back. She only gripped harder, pushing past a collapsing, dead woman.

“Where are we going? Who are the people in suits?”

Could she even hear him?

“Mom, I’m scared!”

And then that explosion went off. Just a metre away. Right at Mila’s feet, to the left.

The time slowed down, almost to a standstill. Adriel could see it now; he was going to die. 

He wasn’t stupid; the young boy knew what death was. He knew that an explosion at this distance would kill him instantly. It sucked, honestly. Here he was, looking forward to the new life he would live in Japan, with his family.

Goodbye to those ice-cream trips with his mom. Goodbye to those quiet reading nights with his dad. Goodbye to this beautiful life he was still so excited to live. At least it was fun for what it was.

The emotions swirling inside him were too much for his 8-year old brain to comprehend. He only knew that this was goodbye, that he was gone. It came out as a pathetic cry, tears glossing over his eyes.

“Mom...I’m scared”

Mila turned back to him and smiled wryly. “I know”

Then, she wrapped her arms around his body and squeezed tight.

As the explosion went off, they flew backwards onto the cold ground, slamming with a splatter of blood. The flames of orange and red engulfed them instantly, surrounding Adriel in his hell. The arms wrapped around him went limp, slouching down as though whatever they had been attached to no longer existed.

He couldn’t see. He couldn’t feel his entire left side. Where was he again?

And more importantly, where was Mila?

//////////////////////////////

A hand grabbed his shoulder. It felt like burning hot iron. Adriel jerked it off with a cry. “Back off!”

“Adriel, it’s me!” A voice shouted back.

The tan male continued to shake, too blind to see the familiar face move into view. He shook his head, desperately grabbing the wet sand around him to try and move back. “Don’t...don’t…”

Kaoru’s lip quivered, both from the cold of the rain and the sight of Adriel lying on the ground. Kneeling, he reached an arm out again. “Come on, let’s go back”

“...Back?”

“To the mansion. It’s getting cold”

“...I can’t see you”

“That’s okay” Kaoru tried to smile. “Give me your hand, I’ll bring us back”

There was no move made by Adriel. Hesitantly, Kaoru grasped his arm and hoisted it around his neck. It felt shockingly hot, compared to the freezing water soaking his clothes.

One foot after the other, they began to walk back to the mansion.

Adriel was quiet the whole time, softly mumbling to himself under his breath. Kaoru couldn’t hear the words over the pouring rain, but at least the tan male was calming down now. 

Trudging through the wet sand, Kaoru cringed at the feeling of it seeping into his shoes. He was only out for a few minutes, but already he was soaked. The rain continued to throw it’s showers at them, nearly knocking the duo over a few times. It poured down, feeling like bullets against the rushing wind.

In the distance, another strike of lightning slapped the ocean. Adriel tensed up, sucking in a gritted breath. His fist clenched, knuckles turning white.

“It’s okay. We’re almost there” Kaoru wryly smiled. “Look, we’re already on the stone path now”

The arm loosened a little, yet Adriel made no move to reply. He continued to mumble under his head, head dropping downwards.

If that was all he was going to get, Kaoru didn’t mind.

Finally, they made it to the door. The twin awkwardly reached an arm out, shouldering the heavy door open. At tonce, they entered the building, dripping water onto the carpet. The door slammed shut behind them, rattling from the wind.

Hikaru stood right by the door, tapping his foot nervously. At the sound of it opening, he turned around to be met by the sight of his brother dragging a barely conscious Adriel behind him.

“Holy shit…” Hikaru whispered, eyes wide. “What the hell happened?”

“He was on the beach. Where’s everyone else?”

“In the lobby. We considered following, but we didn’t even know where you went”

“Well, we’re both here now. C’mon, let’s go meet the others”

Hikaru nodded, wrapping an arm around Adriel’s waist. It felt slick against his dry, clothed arm.

As they hobbled down the dark hallways, the only sounds between them were soft footsteps and Adriel’s quiet mumbling. After what felt like too long, they made their way into the lit-up seating area of the lobby.

Honey was the first to spot them. Jumping to his feet, he was about to call out, but held back at the sight of the limp, soaking wet figure of Adriel. He frowned, ushering them to a nearby sofa. “What happened?”

Everyone else was wondering the same thing. Narrowed, downturned eyes soon casted upon the tan male seated on the couch. There was no reply, only inaudible mumbling.

“He was lying down on the beach covered in sand” Kaoru sighed, rubbing his thumb over the back of Adriel’s hand. “There was a steaming black crater beside him. I think that’s where lightning struck”

“He almost got hit?” Tamaki’s eyes widened. “He could’ve gotten electrocuted. And imagine how loud that must’ve been…”

“Maybe the lightning almost struck him because of his prosthetics” Haruhi pointed out, glancing at the limp limbs. “They’re metal, aren’t they? Let’s try to get them off”

“I can do it” Hikaru spoke up, earning a few odd stares. He narrowed his eyes at the rest of the group. “What? I saw him do it before”

Normally, there would’ve been some kind of argument between them over the validity of his words. Yet in that moment, no one had the energy to protest. With some careful maneuvering, and slightly-louder mumbling coming from Adriel, the prosthetics came off with a shocking amount of care. Hikaru placed them on the ground, wincing at how stiff they felt.

“I think the arm got the most damage. Look, it’s cracked” the elder twin motioned towards it. 

And indeed it was. Spiderlike, interwoven cracks ran through the black and white plaster, trailing all the way down to the hand. A few places were completely cracked open, separated from the rest of the prosthetic. The separated shards of plaster clattered quietly on the ground, exposing the hollow inside of the model. 

“He’s going to need a new one” Haruhi sighed, before glancing at the mumbling male on the couch. “Adriel, aren’t you cold?”

No discernable reply.

“I’ll go get towels!” Umehito stammered, before running off into the hallway. His black cape dragged behind him, vanishing past the oak doors. 

The host club watched him leave, before turning back to the still mumbling boy. 

“Hot...it’s so hot…” Adriel uttered through tight lips. He squeezed his eyes shut, shivering. “Why is it so hot?”

“You’re shivering” Mori frowned. “It’s not hot. It’s freezing”

“But, the fire?” Adriel drooped his head down, hair curtaining his face. “What about the explosion?”

“Do you mean the lightning strike?” Kyoya asked, taking careful note of the words. 

“No...the bomb. At the mall”

“We’re not anywhere near a mall. We were at the beach, remember?”

“No, the mall… and the people with goggles… with the little green shells, and guns”

An uncomfortable silence filled the room as the words sunk in. Bomb, mall, shells, guns...

Kyoya solemnly turned to the rest of the host club. “I think he had a panic attack”

“That’s what it looked like,” Kaoru responded, eyes not leaving the shorter male’s body. “He was gasping for air”

“He did that the first time too” Mori spoke up, gaining numerous wide-eyed stares. He explained quietly. “One of the guards cornered him, and he panicked. It was probably the uniform, and the guns...pointed directly at him”

Silence. Kyoya glared at the ground, pushing his glasses up. “Someone’s getting fired”

“Do you think this is why he hates loud noises so much?” Tamaki pondered. “Because of...that?”

“Maybe. Either way, I think this is out of our hands” Kyoya sighed. “We should call his parents-”

“No!” Adriel suddenly shouted, looking up at the group surrounding him. Gasping, he began to shake. “Don’t call him!”

At the frantic answer, Adriel seemed to suddenly become aware of where he was again. His empty, glazed-over eyes slowly came back into focus. Squinting, he shook his head. “You can’t call dad…”

The group watched with unease. Offering a wry smile, Honey tried to reassure the panicked male. “Adriel, how are you feeling?

“I’m fine”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. So don’t call dad”

It was silent for a few seconds, as the tan male took a few deep breaths. Blinking, he let out an exhausted sigh. “What happened?”

“You were caught up in the thunderstorm outside,” Haruhi softly reminded. “Are you cold?”

“A little” Adriel grimaced, beginning to feel the chill of his still-soaked clothes.

Just then, Umehito came back through the oak doors holding a pile of fluffy white towels. Kaoru grabbed one, wrapping it around his shoulders to dry off the water still there. He picked up another one and wrapped it around Adriel. 

The tan male made no move in response, simply grasping the towel tighter. He was still out-of-it, and the group could tell.

“Where are my prosthetics?” Adriel asked upon realizing why he felt so unbalanced.

“They’re on the ground beside you. The arm broke during the storm” Tamaki frowned. “Sorry”

At this, Adriel picked up the plaster limb. A few broken shards slid off onto the ground, leaving behind only a hollow shell of the model. He blinked, before dropping the arm and resting his head on his hand. “Damn it…”

“Should I call a medic?” Umehito asked, watching the prosthetics clatter down onto the floor. “Please, let me-”

“Don’t” Adriel suddenly glared. 

It was silent.

“Adriel, are you-” Kaoru started, before biting his tongue. “We want to help you”

“I know” the tan male frowned, drooping his head down. “I’m sorry. I’m just...tired”

“You sure you don’t want us to call anyone?” Hikaru furrowed a brow. “Maybe your dad, or your mom or something?”

“I just wanna sleep” was the only reply. Adriel stared, eyes half lidded at the ground. “And change into something dry”

The group looked around at each other in unease. Umehito stood up and offered the host club an attempt at a smile. “I’ll go. C’mon, I’ll show you to your room”

“Thanks” the tan male muttered. “Just let me get my leg back on”

“I’ll carry you” Mori suddenly interrupted, standing up.

Normally, Adriel would’ve tried to argue with tinted cheeks. Yet the short boy only sleepily nodded, allowing himself to be carried bridal-style by the taller. Umehito led the way, bringing the prosthetic leg with him wrapped in a white towel.

They left the lobby, the oak doors shutting quietly behind them. Upon the sound, the rest of the hosts looked at each other in a restless silence. 

“Well, why don’t we all go and try to get some sleep?” Tamaki attempted to cheer, a shaky smile on his tight lips. “Since we’ll be going home tomorrow”

“Yeah, I’m beat” Haruhi rubbed his tired eyes. She stood up, before making her way to the oak doors. “Get some rest everyone. See you tomorrow”

“I’ll be going too” Honey weakly smiled, following Haruhi out the doors. His normally upbeat steps were replaced with slow, trudging feet. “Goodnight, everyone. I’m sure Takashi will go to our room soon anyways”

“Wait, let me follow too. Uh-” Tamaki turned to the remaining hosts with a stiff grin. “See you in the morning?”

With that, he exited the room following the other two hosts. Kyoya sighed, before turning to the twins. “You two should get some rest. Especially you, Kaoru”

“Yeah, c’mon. Let’s go get changed” Hikaru nudged his brother. “You’re freezing”

“I heard you, I heard you” Kaoru groaned, standing up. He shook from the cold, only now feeling the chill. “See you later, Kyoya”

“Are you staying?” Hikaru asked the bespectacled male. Kyoya nodded, pulling out his laptop.

“Just for a few more minutes. I need to see something”

“Alright, weirdo. Get some sleep too”

Then, the twins left through the same oak doors. At last, Kyoya checked to make sure he was alone before opening his search browser.

He knew Adriel wouldn’t be happy to see what he was doing, but Kyoya couldn’t afford to care. There was too much he didn’t know; about Adriel’s past, his family, his triggers…

Kyoya just needed to make sure his friend was okay. He never wanted a repeat of today to ever happen. 

“Mall bombings… within the past 15 years…”

As he read through the articles, the sinking feeling in his chest grew.

After Adriel was sound asleep on his bed, passed out from exhaustion, the remaining members of the group retreated to their own rooms for rest. As they got ready for bed, their minds swarmed with worrisome thoughts.

Umehito felt a sick pit of dread, deep within his stomach as he sat on his bed. Today Adriel got punched, rained on, had a panic attack and broke his prosthetic arm completely. And it all happened the first time they hung out together. A terrible, taunting voice filled the back of his head, screaming that it was all his fault, that Adriel would be okay if it weren’t for him. The third year sighed, slouching his blond head down onto his palms. He needed to make it up somehow.

Honey sat crossed legged on his pillow, meditating with his eyes closed. There was so much he didn’t know about Adriel, and he was just now realizing it. The reminder brought shame to him, especially after today. He could’ve been a better friend…

“Takashi, how is he?”

“He fell asleep the second I put him down”

Mori sat down tiredly on a nearby chair, throwing his head back to stare at the ceiling. Questions regarding Adriel’s past filled his head, but one thought reigned dominant in his mind. What happened today was just like what happened at the tropical resort, only worse. He swore he would never let Adriel go through something so traumatic, he swore! Yet the third year allowed it to happen once again. ‘How horrible’

Tamaki couldn’t help but feel shameful too. He was the one who watched Adriel leave the mansion, on his way to the beach by himself. True, the blonde warned him, but he wished he did more to stop the tan male. Just when they had forgiven and let go, he went and messed it up again! The blonde blinked tiredly, rolling onto his side to hug his pillow. “I need to make it up to him”

Haruhi ran a hand through her brown hair, frowning in the mirror. Out of everyone, she was probably the least self-critical, given that there was no need to dwell on what could’ve been. Yet, she couldn’t help but hope Adriel would get better soon. What was said earlier in the lobby was off putting, to say the least. There was so much she wanted to ask him, but at the same time, she didn’t want to overstep her boundaries either. No matter what, Haruhi swore, as long as Adriel was happy she was too.

Hikaru’s head was swarming with questions. Questions about Adriel’s past, his parents, and why the tan male insisted on not calling anyone for help. It made no sense, going through something so traumatic only to try and solve it on his own. Why couldn’t they call his dad, or a doctor, or something? Deep inside, a bitter, ugly feeling grew in the twin’s stomach. He glared out the window, clutching his pillow tightly. “Kaoru, why didn’t we call his dad?”

“He told us; he didn’t want us to”

“But why? Wouldn’t it make sense to call someone you trust after having a panic attack? Why does he insist on dealing with it alone?”

“...I don’t know”

Kaoru sighed, curling up underneath the blankets. As tired as he was, there was something keeping him awake too. Truthfully, he wondered the same thing as his brother. Perhaps not to such a forceful degree, but Kaoru wished Adriel’s father would at least know about what happened today. Family should know when the other got hurt, right? Of course he wasn’t going to out Adriel to his dad, but the worry in Kaoru’s stomach did not cease. Especially after closing his eyes and imagining what Adriel had been through. Guns, bombs, explosions…

Kyoya retired to his room much later than the rest of the host club. For a couple hours, he spent his time scouring the internet for something, anything that could give him an idea as to what happened to Adriel in the past. He couldn’t help it; the curiosity and unease was killing him inside. After the bone-chilling words left Adriel’s lips earlier, all Kyoya wanted was to figure out what happened, and let it never happen ever again. Unfortunately for him, the bespectacled male found nothing specific. That didn’t make the research any less informative though, as he began to underline possible triggers to avoid in the future. Logically, Kyoya knew that eventually Adriel would probably tell them himself. Until then, he thought. 

And finally, Adriel himself. The tan male, who was stuck staring blindly up at the ceiling during the ungodly hours of the night. What a day it’s been; exploring caves, getting punched, getting into arguments, rained on and then relapsing. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep.

‘That’s how Mom died, isn’t it?’

There it was, the untold truth. His memory of the explosion was always so hazy: a badly strung together mess of events that never had a clear image. But this was how his life changed, so many years ago. And it hit him all at once again, today.

Adriel sighed, turning onto his side to stare blankly at the prosthetic leg propped against his bed. The only one he had left.

‘I’m gonna need to call my prosthetist’

But he already knew he wouldn’t be getting another arm. Prosthetics were not cheap, and he already had enough bills to worry about at home. He and his father needed to be kept alive; food, electricity, water… they all piled up on top of eachother. And at this point, it was only Adriel’s job at the library keeping the small family going.

He wondered how his father would react to seeing him come home with no arm. He wondered if he would be met with disappointment, or anger. It’s been a while since he shared a real conversation with Asher. One-worded answers regarding money didn’t count.

Would it be significantly harder to work with only one arm? Yes. Would the rumors at school grow and grow? Yes. Did he have any other choice?

Adriel sighed.

‘The host club… I think I’m gonna tell them’

Tell them about his trauma. About his past. After today, Adriel didn’t doubt that they had their questions. He would have them too.

He was scared, and at the same time, relieved. This wasn’t like him and Asher; Adriel knew the host club was mature enough to react healthily. They were his friends, he reminded himself. And at this point, Adriel wanted to open up about his trauma too. He had no one else to talk to about it, save Aaron, who tended to be busy quite often.

Tuesday, he decided. The day after tomorrow, when they returned to school. On tuesday, his friends would know the truth.

‘Friends… yes, they’re my friends’

Despite everything, a small smile crept onto Adriel’s lips as he fell asleep.

///////////////

“I’m sorry sir. She didn’t...make it”

Words Asher never wanted to hear.

“Are you serious?”

“We tried everything we could. But her body was mutilated from the explosion. There was barely anything we had to save”

“Come on! Please, do something! Anything!”

His throat was aching, though not from his screams.

“Sir, please calm down-”

“Bring her back! Bring my wife back to me! Please, I can’t… I can’t…”

The man’s eyes widened, dark circles creasing at the corners of his face. In that moment, he looked like he had just aged another 30 years.

“I’m sorry sir. We tried everything we could”

“...Can I see her?”

“Her body was too damaged. There was nothing left”

“Nothing?”

“Well, nothing except this”

The doctor pushed a set of black earrings into Asher’s hands. All eight of them sat neatly in their plastic box, glistening innocently at the broken man.

“Mila’s earrings…”

“They were the only thing left from the explosion. The stone used to carve them is indestructible”

“Mila, this is all I have left of you…”

Lip quivering, Asher pocketed the small box. He couldn’t bear to look at them.

“What about my son. You said he’s okay, right?”

“Yes, he’s alive”

“Oh, thank goodness-”

“But he’s not unscathed”

Asher stopped, turning his head up slowly at the doctor. “What do you mean?”

“The mall bombing left numerous dead, and many injured. Your son was of the latter”

“Will he be able to heal?”

“Yes… though he’ll be an amputee. I’m sorry sir, your son Adriel has lost his left arm and leg”

Frozen. Asher shook his head slowly, looking at his palms in bitter agony.

“Please, can I at least see him?”

“He only just came out of the surgery. He needs to rest here for the next few days. I’m sorry, but for the time being, I suggest you visit again tomorrow”

“So, he got amputated? Will he never be able to walk again?”

“We have a list of recommended prosthetists for Adriel. With enough physical therapy, he might be able to”

It was silent. Asher stared at the doctor, contemplating his next words with a clouded head.

“...I would like to see the list”

“Certainly. We’ll have it ready by tomorrow, then. Be warned, this does not guarantee he’ll be able to make a full recovery”

“Yeah, I know…”

“I offer my condolences, sir. Then, I think it would be best for you to go home and get some rest, alright?”

“...Alright”

Asher did not go home.

He left the hospital, footsteps dragging through the parking lot. He turned on his car and slumped against his seat. It felt empty.

He pressed down on the petals, and drove to the nearest bar. He had never done something like this before.

Then, he ordered a drink. And another one. And another, until the countless glasses piled up beside him like building blocks.

That night on the day his wife died and his son underwent surgery, Asher picked up a bottle. 

To this day, he has yet to put it down.

////////////////////////////////

Adriel shouldered his front door open, cringing at home much effort it took. It was the morning after, and he had just gotten dropped off by Umehito, having said goodbye to the hosts earlier at breakfast.

The tan male rubbed his tired eyes, slinking through the living room. Asher, who was counting the bills on the table, lifted his head up.

“Is that a cut?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I uh, fell down the stairs”

“Is that why your arm is gone too?” Asher frowned, glancing at the absence of a prosthetic.

Adriel grimaced. For once, he wished his father was less attentive. “Yeah, it um, broke when I fell”

“You’ll need to call your prosthetist for that, you know. For an update”

“I know. I’m not planning on replacing it, though”

Asher tilted his head in confusion. Adriel bit the inside of his cheek, wallowing in the uneasy silence between them.

For it would be taboo to talk about the lack of money, right? It was a topic Adriel didn’t feel all too pleasant speaking about with his father.

Just like his relapse. And his nightmares. And the flashbacks, his mother, his mourning, and all the other buried trauma Adriel had yet to cope with.

Asher shook his head and gave his son a small smile. “Alright. Now go unpack; you’ve got a shift at the library this afternoon”

Adriel blinked at the abrupt change in pace. This reaction wasn’t one that he had expected. Nevertheless, the tan male preferred it over the disappointment he was anticipating. Offering his dad a small wave, Adriel left the living room in favour of going to his bedroom.

Asher’s smile fell as soon as Adriel left. For there was a reason why he decided to let it go.

There was a reason why he wanted to keep Adriel calm, unbothered, and distracted with his own thoughts. Asher went back to counting the bills on the coffee table, wincing as he mentally calculated.

There was a big, empty stack missing from the pile. That money, having been used yesterday night at the bar.

That money, having been wasted on Asher’s self-destructive coping mechanisms.


End file.
